George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon—one the earliest examples of historic landscape preservation in the US—has been owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association since 1858 with a mission to preserve and interpret the site’s history and the life of George Washington. A cultural landscape report was prepared to investigate the history and development of the Mount Vernon landscape with a focus on features that existed prior to 1799 and to document the existing landscape to provide a description of surviving and missing historic features. In addition, the scope of work places the 500-acre site within the context of Washington’s larger 7,600-acre plantation landscape. The project included the preparation of a separate report documenting George Washington’s landscape design intent to support the landscape architectural design of the environs of the new visitor center and education facility.

RMLA principal Rob McGinnis served as the project director for this project while with OCULUS.