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George Washington—The farmer

George Washington was an ambitious and practical man, whose passion was working on and improving his land. From the time of his early adventures as a surveyor along the Virginia frontier, he began to purchase land, considered to be a primary indicator of wealth and prestige in 18th century society. By the time of his death in December 1799, he owned more than 70,000 acres of land. His attention focused primarily on his home, Mount Vernon. Over the course of 45 years, he built his Mount Vernon estate from 2,000 acres to a plantation of 8,000 acres with a population of over 300 slaves, indentured servants, and hired laborers. Washington had divided his property into four working farms: Dogue Run, Muddy Hole, River, and Union farms, where approximately 3,200 acres were under cultivation.

slavesIn addition, there was one nonagricultural farm, the Mansion House Farm, which was the seat of his plantation. Through his determination to transform the estate into a profitable business venture and fashionable gentleman’s seat became one of the largest and most prosperous plantations in the Chesapeake region by the end of the 18th century.

To understand George Washington’s vision, it is necessary to look beyond his roles as military and political leader and examine his extraordinary efforts to improve American agriculture. He possessed a fundamental belief that the success of the new nation lay in the ability to export American products to international markets. Washington believed that large planters like himself had the obligation and financial means to determine the most productive methods of crop production, thus leading the way for small farmers. In 1790, the second year of Washington’s administration, 90% of the American population were farmers; and the vast majority of those individuals held relatively small landholdings. Washington saw that the future of the country lay in their success.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the majority of farmers owned between 100 and 300 acres, and their labor force consisted solely of their families. Some middle class farmers owned one to two slaves, which allowed them to greatly increase their output of tobacco. Large landowners such as George Washington had the labor force and land to produce vast quantities of tobacco; however, by the late 1760s, Washington had become frustrated with the English monopoly on tobacco grown in the colonies. Profit was strongly controlled by taxes set by the British government as well as by a fluctuating tobacco market. Additionally, American farmers were dependent upon factors, or agents, in London to handle their business. At times the fees, which included insurance in the event a ship was lost at sea, export duties or taxes, and broker fees and commissions, could equal as much as 80% of the value of the shipped tobacco. Washington did not like being economically dependent upon what he believed was an unreliable system.

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In the mid-1760s, Washington began to experiment with growing wheat, which although regulated by law, could be sold in Europe, the West Indies, Virginia, and Maryland, as well as England. A major advantage to growing wheat was that if the market were bad, the crop could be used to feed the Washington family, slaves, and livestock. Washington also built a gristmill to process the Mount Vernon wheat into flour, which he also sold. In 1764, he sold 257 bushels of wheat; and by 1769 his output of wheat sold was 6,241 bushels. Although he continued to grow some tobacco, by the early 1770s, wheat had become Washington’s primary cash crop.

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George Washington's Properties

The Mansion House Farm