Friday, May 21, 2010

Gristmill and Distillery at Mount Vernon

After George had served two terms as President; in l797, upon the advice of his farm manager; he decided to expand his operation and build a distillery next to the gristmill. It was completed in l798; the distillery boasted 5 copper stills, a 210-gallon boiler and other essential equipement for producing "a fine spirit".


















Property that the distillery and gristmill are on










Outside of the gristmill





Inside the gristmill










They ground corn while we were there and you can buy it as well






















George Washington was an entrepreneurial farmer and businessman. His whiskey distillery and gristmill utilized innovative technologies that were cutting-edge in the 18th century.


In 1770, after switching his main cash crop from tobacco to wheat, George built a large merchant mill and millrace downstream from the original mill site. It was fitted with two sets of millstones - one set for grinding corn for use on the plantation and other set for processing the wheat grown on his farms into superfine flour for export to foreign ports.








2 comments:

  1. Hey you guys this is one of mine and Julie,s favorite places to go, we always stay at the Best Western by Mt Vernon, our favorite resturant is Phillips buffet at the marina in D.C. just off the mall right by Thomas Jefferson memorial also by the Mint you should try it. When you go to the WWII memorial look up my dad Earl Musser he should be on there Have fun we love it there!!!!!!

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  2. Thanks Tom, we'll look up your dad and the restaurant!! We miss you guys.

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