NEWS
Notes from a Kitchen
In March, the archaeology team rediscovered the pre-1775 kitchen, exposing a section of its foundation on the south lane between the kitchen and circle storehouse. An interesting additional discovery was one of the original copper lightning rod grounds installed in 1924 by Thomas Edison’s electrician, a “Mr. Somerville.”
The kitchen was one of four outbuildings—along with a dairy, storehouse, and wash house—listed in the inventory of Lawrence Washington’s possessions taken at the time of his death in 1753. The early kitchen was dismantled, along with the other early outbuildings, during Washington’s second Mansion expansion (1774–1776) to make way for the new kitchen and servants’ hall with flanking colonnades. The razing of the early kitchen also opened up the space that became the south lane, giving balance and symmetry to Washington’s newly redesigned plantation seat.
In April, the archaeology team completed excavation of a five-foot-wide corridor across the south lane, exposing and documenting surviving sections of the kitchen. The archaeology brings to light a series of sophisticated engineering solutions employed by the craftsmen engaged in the kitchen’s construction, including a course of bricks laid vertically in a “rowlock” pattern to correct for shifting or unstable ground due to erosion and storm runoff. A layer of marine clay was intentionally laid across the area and packed along the foundation at the time of construction as well, likely in an attempt to manage erosion and provide a measure of increased stability, given the steep grade of the location.
Archaeological technician Tess Ostoyich works to expose a section of pre-1775 kitchen foundation between the storehouse and standing kitchen, both constructed in 1776 after the dismantling of the earlier kitchen (top). Overhead view of archaeological excavation with exposed section of pre-1775 kitchen foundation and a score of modern utilities (bottom).
Stamps of Approval
On May 17, Mount Vernon welcomed the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Livestock Conservancy for the unveiling of a set of Heritage Breed commemorative stamps. Representatives of the 10 heritage breeds featured—including Mount Vernon’s own Milking Devon cattle, Spud and Knox—greeted guests on the east lawn.
Heritage breeds are pre-industrial farm animals whose varying characteristics and remarkable qualities hail back to the nation’s agrarian roots—and may show the way to a more sustainable future. With industrial farming, livestock were standardized for maximum productivity. As a result, many breeds are now critically endangered, and several are extinct. In addition to retaining genetic diversity to help farmers adapt to changing conditions, heritage livestock are also a valuable cultural resource, as the breeds demonstrate the farming practices of earlier periods in American history and illuminate agricultural traditions.
Steve Monteith of the Postal Service noted the significance of heritage breeds “for their versatility, adaptability, and their unique genetic traits.” Joining Monteith were Alison Martin and Jeannette Beranger, both of the Livestock Conservancy; Mount Vernon’s Douglas Bradburn; Aliza Eliazarov, whose photographs graced the stamps; and “General Washington,” interpreted by Dan Shippey.
The pane of 20 stamps includes: the Mulefoot hog, the Wyandotte chicken, the Milking Devon cow, the Narragansett turkey, the American Mammoth Jackstock donkey, the Cotton Patch goose, the San Clemente Island goat, the American Cream draft horse, the Cayuga duck, and the Barbados Blackbelly sheep.
George Washington, portrayed by Dan Shippey (photo Thalia Romero)