Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-05-23
WESTINGHOUSE BIRTHPLACE.
y Historic Spot Long Neglected and
Almost Unknown

1t is strange that. though the birth
day Of Washington has been made a
national holiday, there are few who
know anything about the place where
he first saw the light of day, and it
is still more strange that the site of
this historic mansion should Oe so neg
Iected that it is now but vacant field
where the COWS Craze over the spot
that should be held in reverence by
the nation.
Recently. however. steps have been
taken looking towards a suitable
monument to mark the site, and before
many months have passed Wakefield,
which is the name of the Old estate
owned by the father of Washington,
will have a fine shaft towering to the
skies and good roads leading to it. In
1880 congress made an appropriation
of 100000 to be used by the secretary
of state in purchasing the site of the
house in which Washington was born
and erecting upon it some memorial
of the event. Mr. Evarts made per-
sOnal examination Of the farm and
bought tWenty-One acres at the price
of $4,000. But the old bUrying ground
On the place and the site of the man
sion itself had been decided by Lewis
Washington to the state of Virginia
on condition that it erect a suitable
monument A resolution was then
passed by the Virginia legislature by
which all title to the land was con-
veyed to the United States and a quit
claim deed was obtained from all the
heirs.
The first design for a monument was
drawn by a Mr.. Perkins, of Boston,
whose design was a Grecian temple.
But owing to a lack of funds these
plans were never carried out, though
last summer a long wharf with iron
piers was placed on the river front
The contract for the monument was
signed a few weeks ago and the work
will be done by John Crawford & Son,
of Buffalo, n. Y. AS the limit of time
allowed is July. 1895, it will likely be
in position before the winter comes
again. This monument will be sim
pie shaft of gray granite from the
Barre quarry in Vermont, and in aD-
pearance will closely resemble the one
that stands in the lot south of the
White house. 1t Will be fifty-oue feet
high. weigh about thirty-five tons and
will cost $1,000. On the base, which
is twelve feet square, will be the in
ScriptiOn:
WashingtOn's Birthplace
Erected by the United States, 1895.
inc In III St-1n of
ing. Washington was born on the nth
of February, but by the modern cal
endar it is changed to the 22d of the
same month. Wakefield is a farm on
the Potomac about ninety miles south
Of Washington, and the house in
which Washington was born stood on
an elevated plain, comma nding a fine
view of the river. The traces of the
walls are still visible and show that
the mansion was about sixty feet long
and thirty wide while an L-shaped
wing jutted out at the rear. The out
lines of the quaint. old-fa shioned
flower garden and dairy are easily
seen through the sward that covers the
! field.
i The Wakefield estate passed into the
! hands of Georges brother. young Au
/ guStine. and from him it came into the
. possession of his son. and then Of his
/ grandson. George COrbin Washington.
who sold it to a John Gray. though the
site of the old mansion and the family
! burying ground We're reserved to the
! family. The present owner of the
, Wakefield estate is a Mr.. Wilson,
/ whose wife was a member Of the
/ Washington family. The old mansion
! house was destroyed some time be-
! fore the place was sold. for while the
/ property did not pass into the hands
/ of Mr. Gray until 1913, a fire fourteen
! years before had reduced the house to
ashes. This was during the time that
| George COrbin Washington and his
mother occupied it, and the flames
/ broke out on Christmas night, COM
/ polling the family to flee across the
! ice to the house of a neighbor. Mrs,
Washington afterwards built herself