The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1875-03-06
Wakefield. The Birthplace of Geo
Washington.

The heart of every American born citizen OF
this broad and beautiful land of ours throbs
with pride at the name and thought of him who
was in the infancy of our great republic, the
commander of her armies, the champion of her
freedom, the "Father of His Country"
Stories of the unainching truthfulness of his
boyhood, the flial love of his youth, and self
forgetfuI bravery Of his early manhood, added
to the golden lustre of ripened years, show US a
man who may we'll kndIe the altar fires of a
nations pride, and cause US all to rejoice in the
knowledge that he is ours, the offspring of our
own land.
All that was once his is viewed with rever-
ence, and many an eye has CLEANED brighter
as footsteps trod some spot hallowed by his
presence. Many a pilgrimage has been made
to the place of his burial, and many head
bowed low in the presence of the ashes of our
chief. There is scarce an eye which does not
at first glance recognize picture at Mt. YER
non but how few are they who know anything
of the place of his birth, save the meagre par
agraph recorded in history stating the fact that
ii is in Westmorelsnd county, Virginia, and
hat marble slab bearing the inscription =
"Here, on the 22d of February, 1892, George
| Washington was born,"-marks the spot.
| Pope's Creek, one of the numerous estuaries
of the Potomac, penetrates the upper portion
| of Westmoreland county for several miles; on
| this, and about a mile from it's mouth, may be
ee>sek,s kes.ks, c-s nhliT;- ehimnex and cl',s-
| ter of fg bushes, sole monu.nenVs OF Lne spoa.
| The mansion which stood about hundred
| yards from the creek was accidentally burned
during the Revolutionary War, and never re-
built. The ruined chimney is that of an out
| house which escaped the destruction of the
mansion, and the fig bushes are said to have
been under the window Of the room in which
Washington was born. In the midst of these,
| George Washington Park Custis, amid firing of
cannon and demonstration from the naval ves-
sells which accom- panied him, laid after the war
of 1912 slab of freestone about two feet square,
| bearing the inscri ptlon given above. This is
all that has ever been done to preserve the spot
| from oblivion.
| A short time before our late war the Legisla-
| ture of Virginia awakened to some interest on
| the subject, delegated committee TO visit the
| place and take measures to erect some suitable
monument This was done; lot OF two acr es
was donated by the present owner of the farm
to the Commonwealth of Virginia, and some
thousands of dollars subscribed towards the ac
com plishment of their object. But with the
call to arms which soon after resounded through
the land, all objects of minor Importance were
| forgotten, nor has this matter seemed to have
| since presented itself to the mi uds of the law
! givers; and to-day it stands as have described
it, desoate and uncared for, not even the slab
now remaining, it having long ago been carried
off in fragments by relic seekers, until not a
vestige is now to be found.
Wakefield remained in the Washington fam
! lily until the first part of the present century,
when it passed into other hands, and had sew
eral times changed owners until it came into
the possession of the present proprietor, who by
marriage with daughter OF the ancient house
| has again connected it with the fortunes of the
| Washingtons.- Correspondence of the Frederick
(Md) Citizen.