Mission

Founded in 1853, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association owns and maintains in trust the Mount Vernon estate for the people of the United States. Mount Vernon is the most popular historic estate in America and is open 365 days a year. Today, roughly 500 acres of this historic estate have been preserved 16 miles south of Washington, D.C., on the banks of the Potomac River. Visitors can see 20 structures and 50 acres of gardens as they existed in 1799. The estate also includes a museum, the tombs of George and Martha Washington, Washington's greenhouse, an outdoor exhibit devoted to American agriculture as practiced by Washington, the nation's most important memorial to the accomplishments of 18th-century slaves, and a collection which features numerous decorative artifacts. Mount Vernon welcomes an average of one million visitors each year.