George Washington: First in War, Peace, and Farming

The retired president inspects the wheat harvest on his Virginia plantation in “Washington as a Farmer at Mount Vernon” by Junius Brutus Stearns, 1851. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Public Domain

John Hunter, an Englishman who kept a detailed diary of his visit to Mount Vernon in 1785, wrote that George Washington “is one of the most regular men in the world,” always going to bed “at nine and waking up with the sun.” After taking a tour of the estate’s large acreage and observing Washington strip off his coat to work “like a common man,” Hunter wrote, “his greatest pride now is to be thought the first farmer in America. He is quite a Cincinnatus.”

Hunter was not the first person to compare the Virginian general to the famous Roman. Cincinnatus left his plow to take up the sword and then returned to his farm after saving the republic. Washington fully embodied his reputation as the “American Cincinnatus,” making Mount Vernon a world unto itself, and even outdoing his ancient predecessor with his innovative ideas on agriculture.

A Scientific Approach to Farming

A map of Mount Vernon’s five parcels of land— five farms—taken from a drawing by General Washington in a letter published in 1801. Courtesy of The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association

Following his military service in the French and Indian War, Washington returned to Mount Vernon in 1759. The war hero had little experience in agriculture and sought to make up for this by purchasing books on farming methods.

At first, he devoted his energy to growing tobacco. A labor-intensive and fickle crop, it proved unsuited to Mount Vernon’s clay-heavy soil. Problems with weather and topography yielded tobacco leaves that were mediocre in quality, fetching poor prices and causing mounting debt.

Beginning in the 1760s, Washington phased out tobacco and experimented with rotating different crops. His scientific observations in this field rivaled those of Thomas Jefferson, who was conducting his own experiments at Monticello. Washington carried around a pocket-sized notebook, keeping a daily diary where he meticulously noted the outcomes. By the end of his life, these observations totaled more than 700 pages.

He eventually tested 60 different crops. In his diary entries from 1785 to 1786, he lists many of these varieties, ranging from barley, clover, and flax to pumpkins, potatoes, and turnips.

The treading (threshing) barn was built in 1792 on Mount Vernon’s Dogue Run Farm between two corn houses and two stables. Courtesy of The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association

One crop, he discovered, flourished above all the others. “The harvests of wheat have been remarkably good, the demand for that article from abroad is great,” he wrote in a letter from 1790. But which type of wheat was best? Here, too, he applied his careful observations, testing everything from summer wheat and double-headed wheat to yellow-bearded wheat, eventually deciding on white wheat as his main cash crop. He also grew Indian corn to feed livestock, and legumes for rejuvenating the soil.

George Washington, Inventor

(Top) Washington’s 1792 innovative design for a 16-sided treading (also called threshing) barn, (middle) protecting wheat from the elements. (Bottom) Inside its top level, horses trotted upon harvested wheat laid on gapped floorboards to allow wheat berries to filter to the granary floor below. Library of Congress. Public Domain

In the many years spent away from Mount Vernon in service of his country, Washington was constantly writing letters back home, seeking reports and giving instructions for managing production. He came up with some of his best ideas during this time.

In 1792, during his first term as president, Washington took a break from duties of state to ponder a way to maximize wheat production. He thought of a breakthrough invention: a two-story wheat threshing barn with 16 sides. The design combined several different processes. Horses walked on a circular floor on the upper level, treading the wheat to separate the grains from the stalk. The small wheat berries then fell through gaps in the floorboards, where they could be more easily gathered up. Washington’s idea was put into action back home, allowing him to process a much larger volume of wheat than traditional methods.

Washington's 16-sided Threshing barn.  (R) Washington's strategically designed the upper level's 1 1/2-inch, gapped floorboards to allow 90 percent of the wheat berries to filter to the wooden granary floor below after horses trotted for 30 to 45 minutes on the harvested wheat. Courtesy of The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association

Washington the Rose Breeder

Not all of Washington’s planting experiments were geared towards hard-headed economic considerations. He was also one of America’s early breeders of ornamental flowers. He had, in particular, a passion for roses. He planted a variety of species, including Old Blush, Eglantine, and Damask roses. Legend has it that he even introduced a breed in honor of his mother, the “Mary Washington” rose. This climbing variety has beautiful white petals that, when immature, bear a pink tint. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan paid tribute to Washington’s horticultural contributions when he designated the rose as the national floral emblem of the United States.

Choosing the Plow Over the Crown

Washington's distillery at Mount Vernon. Courtesy of The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association

Washington’s political responsibilities put a limit on the attention he could give to farming. Though he longed to return to Mount Vernon, he reluctantly accepted his nomination to a second term as president in 1793. He soon regretted the decision, as critics questioned his integrity and satirists lampooned him for seeking a crown. During a cabinet meeting where Washington was shown a cartoon of his head in a guillotine, Thomas Jefferson recorded him yelling in an explosive outburst, he “would rather be on his farm than to be made emperor of the world.”

Washington would finally get his wish, retiring from public life in 1797. He returned to Mount Vernon, resumed direct control of agricultural production, and continued to experiment. He built a distillery that became one of the largest in the country and, in the last year of his life, was the most profitable business venture on the estate.

A year after the distillery was constructed in 1798 on Dogue Creek, it provided nearly 11,000 gallons of whiskey to over 80 customers. The whisky was made by combining Mount Vernon’s crops: rye, wheat, corn, and malted barley. Courtesy of The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association

When Washington died in 1799, he freed his slaves and left Mount Vernon to his wife Martha. The grounds, in all its former glory, can still be visited today.

Among Washington’s innumerable contributions to his nation, his pioneering role as a founding farmer remains a vital, if often overlooked, aspect of his enduring legacy.

What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to [email protected]