Wednesday, September 11

Carry me back to old Virginia

As far as we can tell from the photos, the family road trip began at Mount Vernon, Va.

Grandmomma (or her sister) in front of Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon was the plantation home of our first President of the United States, George Washington. The Washington family had owned land in the area since 1674. Washington inherited the estate in 1754, but did not become its sole owner until 1761.

Washington built the wooden mansion between 1757 and 1778 and it remained his country home for the rest of his life. Sadly, the estate progressively declined after his death in 1799.

The house was saved from ruin in 1858 by the The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Mount Vernon was then restored and escaped the damage suffered by many plantation houses during the Civil War.

Mount Vernon was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is today listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
After leaving Mount Vernon, it appears the family went to southwest Pennsylvania where they visited both Fort Necessity in Uniontown, Pa., and Summit Inn in Farmington, Pa.

Coincidentally, neither town is too far from Shanksville, Pa., where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field as part of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Never forget.

 

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