Archeologists Unearth 18th-Century Bottles From George Washington’s Cellar—And Find This Inside:

Bottles found in the cellar of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate in May; (Inset) George Washington's Mount Vernon estate (top) and the painting "Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon" by Junius Brutus Stearns. (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Public Domain, Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA))

The leopard skin saddle padding owned by George Washington is tangible and real, and you could have owned it until it was auctioned in May. The “wooden” teeth that fit in his jawbone weren’t really made of wood, as myth held, but you can still see his dentures at his historic Mount Vernon estate. Washington’s war tent—his office and sleeping quarters during the Revolution—still stand in a Museum on South 3rd Street, Philadelphia.

Some of the larger-than-life tales of America’s first President live on in the objects and artifacts he owned; some bring the towering man down to earth and closer to home.

But while the legend of a 6-year-old George Washington chopping down his father’s cherry tree, and famously telling him, “I cannot tell a lie … I did cut it with my hatchet,” may be just a myth, conjured by his biographer to enhance his persona, now it seems you can find the pulpy biological matter of that particular pitted fruit “perfectly preserved,” stuffed into 18^th-century bottles from his own cellar—possibly by his own slaves.

Bottles from the 18^th century found in the cellar of George Washington on his Mount Vernon estate contained perfectly preserved cherries. (Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA))

George Washington's Mount Vernon estate today and in the mid-19th century (Inset). Otherspice/CC BY-SA 4.0, Public Domain

“These artifacts likely haven’t seen the light of day since before the American Revolution,“ Doug Bradburn, president of the Mount Vernon estate, said in a press release. ”We are crossing our fingers that the cherry pits discovered will be viable for future germination.”

Inside five storage pits in the mansion’s cellar, in May, 35 glass bottles were discovered buried in dirt, 29 of which were intact and found to contain perfectly preserved cherries and other berries like gooseberries or currants. The contents were extracted and put into refrigeration on the estate to undergo scientific analysis, while the bottles are drying out.

Insights into what life was like on an 18^th-century plantation will be revealed with this discovery of bottles, found as a $40 million revitalization project began. The work on George Washington’s 290-year-old home ahead of the republic’s 250th birthday in 2026, Mr. Bradburn said, is the estate’s “birthday gift to America.”

Several 18^th-century bottles in George Washington's cellar. (Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA))

The bottles containing 250-year-old cherries and other berries such as gooseberries and currants. (Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA))

The bottles being excavated from George Washington's cellar. (Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA))

This finding of preserved foodstuffs with the first breaking of dirt last month will tell something about the “origins of American cuisine,” archeologist Jason Boroughs said, and the “skill of the enslaved people who managed the food preparations from tree to table.”

Those people include Doll, George Washington’s cook, who was brought to Mount Vernon by Martha Washington in 1759 to oversee the estate’s kitchen. Doll, her children, and more than 80 other enslaved people were part of the dowry that joined George Washington’s estate after the couple married.

Perfectly preserved cherries found inside bottles from George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. (Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA))

A researcher documents and cleans one of the 18^th-century bottles from George Washington's cellar. (Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA))

So far, 54 cherry pits and 23 stems—neatly snipped, suggesting the use of shears—along with pulp, have been extracted to be examined. They are of a tart variety with greater than usual acidity that may have aided in their preservation. A candidate for DNA extraction, the fruit matter could be compared against a database of heirloom varieties to determine the species. The possibility for germination will be determined.

Officials say the foodstuffs are likely 250 years old.

“To our knowledge, this is an unprecedented find, and nothing of this scale and significance has ever been excavated in North America,” Mr. Bradburn said. “These extraordinary discoveries continue to astonish us.”

What was built as a private house in the late 18^th century is now a monument visited by thousands daily, a traffic flow far heavier than what it was built for, surely beyond the Washingtons’ wildest imaginations. The wear and tear and strain on the fabric of the home led to repairs over a century ago. Now, as the mansion enters its fourth century, much-needed steps are being taken, to be completed next year, to ensure its health long into the future.

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