George Slept Here….

While traveling up Route 3 last Friday we came upon the national monument of George Washington’s birthplace at Pope’s Creek. Pope’s Creek is a wide creek, feeding into the Potomac River and a beautiful location for any homestead. George Washington, the father of our country, was born here in February 22, 1732. George’s parents were Augustine and Mary. George was 11 and the third son so when his father died, he inherited a modest share of the 10,000 acres that his father had acquired. George steadily added more land to his holdings over the years. George’s birthplace is no longer standing; having burnt to the ground in 1779. George spent the first four years of his childhood in his birthplace home before moving, with his family, 80 miles up the Potomac to Little Hunting Creek (later known as Mount Vernon). He lived there till he was 6 and later inherited Mount Vernon when his brother died.
In thinking about and having studied history in school, I never realized how important farming was to George Washington. He said “No pursuit is more congenial with my nature and gratification, than that of agriculture; nor none I so pant after as again to become a tiller of the Earth.” He felt that it was an honor to serve his country and in 1789 became our country’s first president. He served as President until 1797, at which time he retired. He moved back to his beloved Mount Vernon but his retirement was short-lived as he died in 1799.
Surrounding the visitor center are vast fields, of grazing cattle and sheep, that remind you of colonial days when agriculture was so important to the region. There are old fences as far as the eye can see and a tree lined lane leads to the family burial ground at the back of the property. George’s half-brother, father, grandfather and great grandfather are all buried here under a peaceful tree canopy and surrounded by a brick enclosure. George is buried at Mount Vernon.
In thinking of George Washington, I think of an austere man with colonial language full of “ye” and other old terms. In living here for just a short time, I have met many native Virginians and most of them have quite an accent. This puts a whole new slant on how I’ve come to think of George Washington. This impressive man…father of our country, probably had a heavy Virginian twang when he talked. Mental image doesn’t match the history book version. I think I’ll revert to the image I had of him before moving to this neck of the woods. George, void of any accent, addressing the Constitutional Convention, in Philadelphia with one hand on his lapel and the other raised to address the crowd.