"IN 1799, ON THE EVE OF A NEW CENTURY, George Washington died at his beloved Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. Over the next five decades the proud and stately mansion passed to a succession of familial owners for whom the financial responsibilities of upkeep were overwhelming.
By 1853, after failed attempts by Washington’s great-great nephew John A. Washington to sell the estate to the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, the property had fallen into a state of severe DISREPAIR.
IN THAT YEAR, South Carolinian Ann Pamela Cunningham founded the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, and began an unprecedented national campaign to purchase Mount Vernon and preserve it as an icon of American history. The effort came to be regarded as the birth of the historic preservation movement in America. The Association garnered the support of important political, financial, and intellectual leaders, and was able to take possession of Washington's home in 1860.
WITH THE ESTATE IN POOR PHYSICAL CONDITION and nearly devoid of Washington family possessions, the Ladies organized themselves into committees to restore the mansion and grounds. The result was efficient grassroots fundraising, effective public relations, and a heightened awareness of the importance of historic preservation.
The Ladies’ ability to raise an astonishing amount of money to buy and restore Washington’s home inspired women across the country, and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association became a model for other organizations that came into existence in the 19th century as the historic preservation movement gained momentum."
http://www.nbm.org/Exhibits/current/Mount_Vernon.html