Washington harbored one last ambition when he left public life, however.
He confided to a friend that he wanted to build a place “for the accommodation and security of my military, civil, and private papers, which are voluminous and may be interesting.” Not long after he wrote those words, however, Washington contracted a severe chill while inspecting his plantation in a cold downpour, fell sick, and died.
On Friday, some 214 years later, thanks to the generous support of donors, and the Ladies’ Association’s staunch commitment to vouchsafing the legacy of the nation’s first president, Washington’s dream of establishing a library will finally be fulfilled.
It is good to see that we have not forgotten one of the greatest of the founders of our country. He was the right man in the right place, and this nation was truly blessed to have him as our military leader and our first president.
Now...I want to go back to Mt. Vernon!!! Thanks for posting.
may God bless all who accomplished this for our beloved founder and framer. our first and foremost American man. my fond hope is to visit before i pass on.
If it wasn’t for his brother and his brother’s connections...
So worth revisiting. This new library promises much! Love the recently-opened visitor center with life-size latex figures of George at various ages, large displays and movies, and of course the scale model of the Mount Vernon residence. Tours of the grounds are wonderful — I learned so much about Washington’s business acumen as a farmer and exporter.
Maryland PING!
Fantastic news, photo gallery of the new library here: http://www.mountvernon.org/library/gallery
The father of our country.
The indispensable man.
Imagine what we could accomplish if Americans would once again adopt his attitude of faith and principle in action:
“If, to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God.” - George Washington
Gosh, that would bring about a revolution!
very cool!
And this is taking place after the Mount Vernon Ladies Association had to explain to the Park Service that they had no authority to barricade Mount Vernon and NPS had the barrycades removed.
mark