, 1889-09-26
WARY wAsHINeroN,s HOME.


Present Condition of the House In Which
''the Mother of the Country" Lived.
Mary Washington, the mother of our
country through her iIlustrious son
George, died here Tuesday, Aug. 25, 1880,
and was buried here 100 years ago, on
the 9th of last month, in the then fam
lily burying ground of the Lewis family.
This neglected spot was a part of the
estate of her daughter, Bette Lewis, who
lived at that time in her large house,
very near by. This house now stands
well preserved, and was built of English
brick brought to this country about the
middle of the last century. l walked up
Charles street, and not far from the
heart Of the town vas shown the home
Of Mary Washington, a modest frame
structure fronting upon this street and
abutting upon Lewis street, with its
square portico ~encroaching upon the side
walk. The rear portion, about half way
down the slope of the roof, is of brick,
dovetailing into the wooden structure,
which suggests the idea that modern has
reversed the continental style of archi-
lecture according to our f~orefathers' ideas
Of effects. The foundations are of stone,
shutting in an ample cellar, with a small
door opening into a side street, with an
iron grating in a wooden frame on the
front. The portion occupied by Mary
Washington is the wing on the corner.
1t was in this room fronting the street
that she lived and died. The higher por-
tion, with the porch, has, 1t is believed,
been added since.
l raised the old brass knocker with a
feeling of generation, and, striking it,
the sound was suggestive of the drop of
a coffin handle. This knocker is pecul-
iarly suggestive. 1t is an eagle resting
upon a bracket and holding in its claws
the rim of a shield, which, when raised,
strikes upon the bracket. Mr.. w. j.
Moon now owns the house and has pos
sessed it since 1877. 1 examined care
fully the records here in the court house
and found that the place had been owned
by seven different people in the last fifty
years; pack of that the record does not
show here, but may be found in the
county court house at Spottsylvania.
Within the house nothing remains Of
the furniture or anything that was used
by Mary Washington except the cup
board reaching to the roof, whose very
doors are frat eaten" with the fingers
prying it open for a century and a half.
The stairway leading to the attic is mar
row, and breaks with a right angle a few
steps from the lower floor. The kitchen,
originally built of logs, has been covered
over with plank. The shutters and sash
are all the originals. The fastenings to
the shutters are of a very crude manu-
f~acture, but have swung their weighty
burdens in storm and sunshine for long
years, while the rust of ages has been
gnawing them away.
1t is very evident Mary Washington
did not own this house; persons to whom
1 stated this promptly denied the propo-
sition. 1 found her will executed May
90, 17SS, in which she makes specific be-
quests of all her property with no gen.
eral clause. 1t is therefore very evident
she did not die possessed of this place.
Her daughter owned quite a large tract
of land, which at one time included this
property and the three or more squares
that are now built upon back to the
Kenmore house and the family burying
ground; in fact, her farm covered consid-
cradle area not now exactly Snown.-
Cor. New York Herald.