Mount Vernon-Washington's Home

Mount Vernon is located west of Washington, D.C. and was the home of George Washington. The home was one of several properties George Washington's father owned and farmed, and eventually, George inherited the property. When he got the farm it was only 1 story and neither the west or the east wings had been added. He and Martha moved there after their wedding in 1759. George Washington considered this his home until his death in 1799. All of the additions to the house were added while he and Martha were living there. It took about 20 years because he kept getting interrupted by things such as commanding the army for the Revolutionary War and then being elected as president.

This is the front of the home, or where the road would have brought horseman and carriages. 

 

This is the back of the home which faces the Potomoc River. Notice the big porch.

Max decided to walk along with George, Martha and her 2 children.

I even got to listen to Martha reminisce about times gone by.

One of George's carriages. Pretty fancy for the times.

George and Martha both are buried on the property.

George also owned several other farms nearby and even a distillery and a grist mill. George really considered himself a farmer and even patented several of his inventions for modernizing the farming industry. He was considered quite an inventor and entrepeneur.

See how the water runs under the building? George placed the water wheel inside instead of outside. This kept the wooden wheel from weathering and needing to be replaced as often.

Here is the large water wheel inside the grist mill. The original mill, except for some of the rock walls, was destroyed years ago, but the mill has been restored to what it would have been in the late 1700s.

And it is a working mill and you can even purchase ground corn in the visitor center.

In the 1790s, a new farm manager convinced George Washington he had the perfect setup for a distillery. The whiskey which was made back then was nothing like you have today. It was not aged, never stored in charred oak barrels, and was not colored. It was clear, fermented grains which had been distilled several times. Then it was kegged and sold immediately.

Here are the barrels they would have used to ferment the grains. Most whiskey made during that time would have been primarily rye grain, with a little corn.

To get the fermented liquid over to the still they used these buckets with long handles. It weighs about 20 pounds without anything in it. I don't think I could have filled it with liquid and moved it.

The stove was next to the still. The fermented liquid was put into the large pot sitting on top of the brick stove/oven. As it cooked the steam traveled through the barrel in coils of copper tubing. Cooler water was run through the barrel around the coils causing the steam to condense and drip out of the copper tubing at the back of the barrel into another holding barrel. This process was usually repeated several times to bring the alcohol content up to the 80-90 proof needed.

They made whiskey for 3 weeks each year. It is made just like they would have made it back in the 1790s. It is sold out before it is completely bottled.

Annapolis and the Naval Academy

I wanted to visit the U.S. Naval Academy. I missed Westpoint, but have visited the Air Force Academy many times. Luckily I have a military I.D. and was able to get an on-base pass for parking. Otherwise, people visiting have to park outside the base and walk in to the visitor center. The Naval Academy is a 4-year university which educates and commissions officers for both the Navy and Marine Corps.

This is Dahlgren Hall, named for Rear Admiral John Dahlgren, was built in 1803. Over the years it has served many functions, some of which were an armory, host for commissioning ceremonies and an ice skating rink.

 

The Wright Brothers built the B-1 Flyer for the U.S. Naval Academy. It was delivered and assembled at the Naval Academy in 1911, where it was first flown by Lt. John Rodgers on 7 Sep 1911. The original flyer is in the Smithsonian, and this is an exact replica. The original was housed here for many years before being placed in the Smithsonian.

The scaled model of a 3 masted ship is hanging in Dahgren Hall.

Dahlgren Hall is now used as a basketball court, has a restaurant and can be used for other activities as needed.

This statue is a memorial to those who serve beneath the seas.

This is the Superintendent's quarters. Franklin D. Roosevelt stayed here and because of his wheelchair, they modified the lower floor to provide a bedroom and bath which was accessible to him.

The Naval Chapel.

Inside the Chapel.

Underneath the chapel is the crypt of John Paul Jones. He was removed from an unmarked grave in France and moved to this location over 100 years after his death in 1792.

John Paul Jones was commanding the ship when he was given the first salute to the Stars and Stripes by a foreign power, back in the revolutionary war. He took the war to England and attacked their ships in their own waters. He is best known for his statement of 'I have not yet begun to fight', after his ship had been fired upon and was burning and the English asked if he was ready to surrender. He continued to fight and ultimately won the battle.

 

Bancroft Hall and the Parade Ground. Bancroft Hall has administrative offices, dorms and some classrooms, as well as a large ballroom. Because of the rain they cancelled the noonday parade. Parade formations are usually held daily prior to meals.

At the Naval Academy Museum they had lots of artifacts which were carved from whalebone by prisoners of war. Here is an example of some dice.

The French POWs also carved scale models of ships. Some of these models are over 300 years old.

Do you know why bathrooms in the Navy are called 'heads'? Years ago, when you were traveling at sea, there were no bathrooms as we know today. They would create seats at the front or head of the ship where you could sit. These seats were over the water, so everything dropped directly into the sea. It became common to say you needed to go to the 'head', whenever someone was going to the bathroom.

The is a wonderful example of a scaled ship carved out of bone.

This is one of over 100 models, built during the 17th and 18th century. This is the largest display of ship models, open to the public, in the U.S.

Hanover and Gettysburg

I stayed in Hanover, PA, when visiting Gettysburg and found out Hanover had its own part in the battle at Gettysburg.

St. Matthews Lutheran Church was organized in 1743, but the current church, dated from 1922, is the 5th on this site. It has an Austin Organ, which was placed in 1925, and is the 8th largest pipe organ in America and is valued at $1.5 million.

 

Don't know anything about this building, except it seems to be getting some restoration.

The big thing in this area seems to be the 'weiner hot lunch'. What gives? It seemed as if every other corner had a 'weiner hot lunch' diner.

The battle of Hanover occured on June 30, just prior to action in Gettysburg. Confederate General Stuart and his calvary attacked the rear of the Union calvary here in the morning and controlled the town throughout much of the day. But by the evening, Union Brig. Gen. Kilpatrick had taken back the town.

Soldiers National Cemetary at Gettysburg. It was in this cemetary that President Lincoln gave his famous "Gettysburg Address". I heard a ranger talk about where the President actually stood while giving the speech, and he showed us, but it is located on the civilian side of the cemetary. There are multiple signs indicating President Lincoln was 'here' when he gave the speech, but the ranger said some of these signs have been moved by construction crews over the years and some were wrong when they were placed. There are no signs to indicate where he actually stood, so you need to listen to the ranger talk at the cemetary to get the 'real scoop'.

The field behind the cars was the site of the first day of battle, July 1, 1863. The confederate's were considered to be the winners of the day.

Just south of the previous battlefield was the location of Gen. Lee's headquarters. It is now a visitor center and gift shop.

Part of the battle was on Seminary Ridge. Since 1832 this has been the site of a Lutheran Seminary.

Much of the second day's battle took place here at Little Round Top and Devils Den. The Union held the high ground on Little Round Top, but the Confederate's were creeping up on them from below at Devils Den. They almost made it since the Union didn't have many scouts watching down below. But one man, Gen. Gouverneur Warren, spotted the Confederate's and rallied the Union troops. Even though Union troops held the hill and many consider this a Union victory, the Union troops had more casualties and they lost much ground, so others consider this battle of the 2nd day a draw.

This farm was standing in this same location during the Civil War. There are 3 separate farms, all of which were there during the Civil War, that have some of the buildings still standing.

This is considered the 'high water mark'. The field out front was the bloodiest and occurred on the third day. The Union troops were dug in behind the rock wall for almost a mile long. The Confederates were coming out from the trees on the other side, attempting to overrun the Union troops. For hours both sides shot cannon on each other and the Confederates made it to the rock wall (hence the 'high water mark'), but they could not take the wall. At the end of the battle, the Confederates had lost and many saw this as a major turning point in the Civil War.

We watched these people take a Gettysburg Segway tour. Looks like fun.

You could also rent these little 3 wheel electric cars too.

In town on the square was the Gettysburg Hotel. Pres. Eisenhower stayed here many times, bringing his staff and entertaining dignataries during his two terms and in August 1959, during a working vacation, the hotel became his office.

The David Wills House, where President Lincoln stayed when he came to Gettysburg.

Max was trying to see what Abe was reading.

And then, of course, I had to check it out too.

Yes, another 'hot weiner' diner. We did eat here and it was good.

The James Getty Hotel, built in 1803, provided lodging and entertainment for travelers. It is still a hotel today, over 200 years later.

Another old inn and tavern. In 1775 this was the tavern of Samuel Gettys. Today it is the Brafferion Inn Bed and Breakfast.

Amish Country and Hopewell Furnace

Anthracite, or coal, was big in this area, but not until the 1800s. Before that, any forges and furnaces used wood, burned down to charcoal.

Hopewell Furnace, in operation by 1772, was one of America's earliest ironworks. They produced canons, furnaces, pig iron which was sold to blacksmith's, plus they also made iron products such as cookware.

 

The house built by Mark Bird, founder of the Hopewell Furnace. It not only housed his family, but guests and some of his key employees and their families. A small town built up around the furnace to support the work. Mark Bird even built tenant houses for his workers. At one time there was a store, church, farm and gardens to support the community.

Pig Iron was made here and sold to other forges or blacksmith's elsewhere.

A canon forged here at Hopewell, used during the Revolutionary War.

A furnace made around 1775.

Furnaces made in the 1820s-1840s. After the Revolutionary War, Mark Bird lost the furnce and his farm and it wasn't used again until the early 1800s. It's most productive period was from the 1820s-1840s. At that time anthracite started to be used for iron production and charcoal forges weren't in as much demand, Hopewell Furnace did put in an anthracite furnace, but it was never production. Hopewell Furnace closed down completely by 1883.

Poole Forge was another early ironworks site. This home was built in the 1700s. The furnace itself no longer exists.

A typical Amish Farm in Pennsylvania. Unlike most Amish farms in other states, the farmhouses might be blue, beige, or other colors, instead of the white you usually see.

Like most other areas where the Amish have settled, they have to contend with more modern technology, such as sharing the road with the auto.

New Holland, the town, is right in the heart of Amish country, yet it is also the headquarters for New Holland and Case machinery.

Some of the local towns have names which are unusual today. In the same area are also the towns of Bird In Hand, Blue Ball and Paradise.

Surprisingly to me, I saw many of the Amish barns drying tobacco. I did not realize it was such a substantial crop for the Amish. But according to some literature about the Amish and Mennonites in this area, more than 50% of their income is from non-farm businesses. Much of the non-farm income now is centered around the tourist trade.