Big Brother is a little obsessed with George Washington at the moment. I think it started from his natural curiosity regarding whatever it is I’m working on at a given moment— which must have been something for Mount Vernon’s magazine — but it has taken on a real life of its own. He asked to go to the library and find some kids books about George Washington, and I’ve now renewed an early reader biography of the General twice. Then he asked to find books about George Washington’s friends, so we added age-appropriate interpretations of Henry Knox and Alexander Hamilton to the mix and put our Thomas Jefferson one into heavier rotation.
But as I’m a huge believer in the transportive power of historic sites and experiential education, I was hugely excited to take him to Mount Vernon so he could get a tangible experience under his belt.
Our first visit was during the annual Revolutionary War encampment and reenactment, which was a tremendous hit. We explored tents, watched demonstrations, participated in the kids’ drill. He was too shy to ask many questions of adult living historians, but made fast friends with a freshly minted powder monkey — a young man who, at 14, was now deemed old enough to help man the cannon. The whole event was, from my perspective, very well organized, especially given the tremendous crowds.
Because we are members of Mount Vernon, we chose to not tour the Mansion that day, planning to return at a less-crowded time. And, since most folks were concentrated in the historic area, we partook of the air conditioned museum spaces. As with any place I’ve visited for the first time with children after having enjoyed it myself individually, it is fascinating to examine the familiar through a new lens. I was pleasantly surprised to find how much of the main exhibit space appealed to my little guy. We also made a brief stop in the Hands-on-History discovery center; there were no programs occurring at that time, but we made our own story hour using the outstanding collection of history-focused books available. Quite a few made it to our wishlist for home.
On a return visit, the most popular display in the museum was about young George Washington’s days as a surveyor. Why? Well, following that aborted camping trip, we found ourselves at West Virginia’s Berkley Springs State Park, which is centered around a natural spring that has been used as a spa since the 17th century. I had a great time enjoying the relaxing wellness services, and my little guy took his own soak in “George Washington’s Bathtub,” one of the pools carved for use during that period.
It's not an apocryphal "Washington Slept Here" story either; he owned property in the town and wrote about having taken the waters. Exactly how much the General relaxed, I'm not sure. But the concept humanized him, which I think is important for larger than life characters. I think he's excited by the idea of finding other places with connections to his hero — and returning to Mount Vernon to enjoy the view of the Potomac River.