Dollhouse:Mount Vernon Dollhouse

George Washington acquired Mount Vernon from the widow of his older brother in 1761. Lawrence Washington had named the estate after his commanding officer, Admiral Edward Vernon of the British Navy. It seems ironic that such an enduring symbol of American patriotism was named after a man employed by a symbol of American oppression. Washington altered considerably the appearance of the house he inherited. He raised the original 1-1/2-story to 2-1/2 stories, added the two-story piazza, "rusticated" the exterior pine siding to look more like stone, and redecorated the interior. He also added the distinctive cupola and--after the war for independence--the weathervane in the image of a dove of peace. Washington enjoyed his home off and on for 45 years; the home then passed on to a succession of his descendants who were ill-prepared to maintain it. In 1853, a great-great nephew attempted to sell the house to the federal government or the commonwealth of Virginia. Neither took the deal, and the house fell into a state of severe disrepair. In a letter to a Charleston, SC, newspaper, Anne Pamela Cunningham challenged the "Ladies of the South" to organize and raise funds to save Washington's home "as a sacred spot for all coming time." With first donations totaling $293, Cunningham's mission was underway. It surpassed a major hurdle when the newly chartered Mount Vernon Ladies' Association finally convinced Washington's heirs to sell the estate to a group of women. The work of the Ladies' Association signaled important shifts in American culture. It took an act of the Virginia legislature and of Congress to empower a group of women to form a national organization, raise money, own the estate jointly, and see to restoration of the decrepit mansion. In the mid-19th century, women just didn't do that sort of thing. Cunningham's activities also signaled the beginnings of the historic preservation movement in the United States on a national scale. The work of the ladies also made a lasting impression on American architecture. Imitations of Mount Vernon appear throughout the United States as spacious and unspacious homes connoting prosperity and good taste; as solid commercial banks where funds are safe; as restaurants, hotels, office parks, airports, funeral homes, and car dealerships where services are dependable, products are reliable, and people cannot tell a lie. The two-story piazza of Mount Vernon instantly conjures up impressions of patriotism, honesty, and all things American and good. Mount Vernon and the virtues it embodies were also exported to the world in a number of American pavilions constructed for world's fairs and commercial celebrations beginning with Chicago's Columbian Exposition in 1893. Mt. Vernon today remains a durable icon of American culture.