The walk from the colonial-style garden to the memorial
house.
The Saving of Washington's Birthplace
The saving of Washington's Birthplace was the work of
many individuals and organizations, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the
Wakefield National Memorial Association, and the United States
Government.
In 1859 John E. Wilson, owner of most of the Popes
Creek-Bridges Creek land, deeded to the Commonwealth of Virginia a
right-of-way through his farm to the birthsite and the Washington family
burying ground, together with one-half acre of land near the latter
place and about 1 acre near the birthsite.
In 1882 the Commonwealth of Virginia vested title in
the United States of America to its holdings at the birthsite and
burying ground. By an act of Congress approved in 1879, and amended in
1881, the construction of a monument to mark the birthsite and the
acquisition of the necessary ground and right-of-way had been
authorized. In 1883 Mr. and Mrs. John E. Wilson sold to the United
States nearly 12 acres of land surrounding the birthsite and 9.85 acres
constituting a right-of-way 50 feet wide and 1.6 miles long, connecting
the birthsite, the family burying ground, and the Potomac River near the
mouth of Bridges Creek.
Although Congress had authorized the construction of
a monument to mark the birthsite in 1881, 15 years passed before the
shaft of Vermont granite was erected. It was a time in our Nation's
history when historical conservation was crowded into the background in
favor of more materialistic aims.
In the 1920's a group of public-spirited women became
interested in the old Washington family plantation. They wanted more
than a granite monument to memorialize the site where our first
President was born, and dreamed of a restored tidewater plantation. On
February 23, 1923, under the able leadership of Mrs. Josephine
Wheelright Rust, they organized the Wakefield National Memorial
Association. Their main objective was to restore the Wakefield
plantation and make it a shrine for all people; the date set for
completion of the task was 1932the 200th anniversary of
Washington's birth.
Shortly after the Wakefield National Memorial
Association was incorporated in 1924, its members raised funds for
acquiring land between the birthsite and the Washington family burying
ground, and induced John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to purchase 273 acres of
the old Wakefield plantation and transfer it to the United States
Government. By an act of Congress, approved June 7, 1926, the
association was given authority to construct a house at Wakefield as
nearly as possible like the one built by Augustine Washington. In 1929
the association acquired additional land, and 2 years later donated its
holding at Wakefield (about 100 acres) to the United States.
Wine bottles, glasses, seals, and bronze spigot of
170080 period found at Wakefield.
By an act of Congress on January 23, 1930, the 394.47
acres owned by the Federal Government was designated as George
Washington Birthplace National Monument, to be administered by the
National Park Service of the United States Department of the
Interior.
In 193031 the Wakefield National Memorial
Association, under its authority from Congress, built an early
18th-century style brick home as a memorial to mark the approximate site
of the home in which George Washington was born. (The granite shaft
which had marked the site since 1896 was moved to a new location.) As
intensive research had produced very little reliable evidence concerning
the appearance of the original Popes Creek home, the memorial house
erected could not be a replica. It is, however, in keeping with the
Virginia plantation scene at the time of Washington's association with
the place.
The new memorial house was opened to the public in
July 1931, and a special open house was held on February 22, 1932, the
200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. Since then the Wakefield
National Memorial Association has been active in furnishing the home
with suitable pieces of the 170050 period. In many instances
18th-century artifacts unearthed near the site of the original home have
served as guides in selecting certain items. The objects excavated were
surprisingly varied and revealed the nature of many furnishings which
were in the original home between the time it was completed in 1726 and
the time of the disastrous fire in 1779. Only a few types of the more
important artifacts unearthed can be described:
GLASS. Hundreds of pieces of broken wine bottles were
found, including 11 wine bottle seals bearing the initials of George's
father, "AW". During the 18th century only well-to-do planters imported
wine bottles from England with their names or monograms stamped on the
necks of the containers. Many wine-glass stems were also found,
revealing the fine assortment of drinking glasses used by the
Washingtons. Numerous windowpane fragments were unearthed.
Fragments of kettle and spoons unearthed at
Wakefield.
TABLEWARE. Many bonehandled knives and forks of
excellent quality were excavated, together with several types of pewter
and latten metal spoons. A few of the knife and fork handles found were
dyed green, described in the 1762 inventory as "green Ivory handled
knives & forks."
Tools unearthed near the site of the home in which
George Washington was borniron hoes, an iron pestle, small ax,
and fragment of an ice saw. All tools shown date from 1690 to
1775.
FURNITURE HARDWARE. Many brass upholstering tacks,
knobs, drawer pulls, and keyhole escutcheons, which at one time
embellished high quality English furniture of the 172575 period,
were unearthed.
CLAY PIPES. Hundreds of fragments of English white
clay pipes were found in the vicinity of the birthsite.
LIGHTING DEVICES AND FIREPLACE EQUIPMENT. Brass
candlesticks, candlesnuffers, and brasshandled fireplace tools excavated
revealed that the Washingtons imported fine metalware from the mother
country.
Sgraffito (scratched) earthenware bowl.
POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. Countless fragments of
colorful earthenware and stoneware pottery were found, together with a
fine assortment of oriental porcelain. Much of the pottery (including
slip-decorated earthenware, Delftware, white salt-glazed stoneware,
"Whieldon" ware, hand-decorated Staffordshire, and creamware) was made
in England; some was imported from Holland (tin-glazed Delftware) and
Germany (stoneware), whereas most of the porcelain came from China.
All pieces of furniture acquired by the association
for the memorial house are of the early 18th-century English styles,
having been made between 1700 and 1750. Only one item in the house, a
tilt-top tea table, is said to have been in the original home. The last
owner of the house, William Augustine Washington (George's eldest
nephew), saved it at the time of the fire in 1779.
The Wakefield National Memorial Association has also
acquired appropriate cooking utensils of the early 18th-century period
for the colonial-style kitchen. Once again, excavated
artifactsincluding pot-hooks, kettle fragments, skewers, ladles,
and numerous other cooking accessorieswere used as guides in
locating suitable kitchen equipage.
The memorial house.
Since 1932 over a million people from all parts of
the world have visited Wakefield and enjoyed its natural beauties and
historical associations. The serenity of the restored plantation with
its cultivated fields and oldtime flower garden, its fragrant boxwood
and sweet-scented herbs, and the lovely water views afforded by Popes
Creek and the Potomac River, make unforgettable impressions. The
memorial house furnished with beautiful and appropriate pieces from a
bygone day, the early 18th-century style kitchen with its huge fireplace
and ancient cooking equipment, and the family burying ground at Bridges
Creek, almost 300 years old, are integral parts of the scene. In
addition to these glimpses of colonial life are the well-kept grounds,
the carefully tended flower beds, and the grove of native cedar trees
which stand like venerable sentinels on Burnt House Point.
Such enchanting scenes which impress the senses and
mind are taken for granted today, as few pilgrims realize that not so
many years ago the birthplace of our Nation's First Citizen was all but
forgotten. Without the dedicated labor of many people and organizations
there would be no Wakefield plantation today, and to these individuals
our Nation will forever owe a debt of gratitude.
But the restored plantation is more than a monument
to the people who saved it. It is a memorial to the boy who played in
the red brick house by the tidal creek, in the stables, barns, tobacco
sheds, and other outbuildings; in the smokehouse and summer kitchen; in
the spinning and weaving house and buttery; and near the forge where the
blacksmith beat red-hot iron rods into tools and hardware and farm
implements. The restored plantation is a shrine to the young boy with
reddish-brown hair and blue eyes who romped through the green meadows
and fields of corn, and watched the growing wheat, rye, and tobacco; the
youth who picked luscious figs, climbed the gnarled apple trees, and
played games in the cedar grove of that day.
Countless times he must have walked along the high
banks of Popes Creek and the sandy shore of the Potomac River, and
stalked game in the nearby forest. Wakefield is a monument to the
growing boy who returned to the place of his birth when he was 11 years
old and learned his first lessons in surveying. The impressions which
the peaceful farm made on his mind were lasting ones, and as he grew
from youth into manhood and assumed greater responsibilities, the happy
memories of days spent on his father's plantation were never
forgotten.
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