Evening star., 1921-02-20
WHERE WASHINGTON WAS
BORN, is A FARM AND NOT A VILLAGE

To his son Lawrence he left a farm
on the Potomac between Dogue run
and Hunting creek. which Lawrence
named Mount Vernon. To his son Au-
Eustne he left the homestead on Fopes
creek. To George. when hc should
come OF age. he beQueathed the farm
on the Kappa hammock opposite Fred
erickshurg The other children were
provided With farms. On the death Of
The second Augustine Washington the
ropes creek farm passed by will To
his son, William Augustine Washing
ton. and then 10 his son. George Cor
bin Washington.
In 1913 George Corbin Washington
sold the farm TO John Gray of stat
ford county. who gave il to his SON
Atchison Gray. IL was next sold TO
Daniel Payne. Payne took The prop
"rty IN connection with other lands
ard owed balance on il of sf5.4eH
Payne then sold the place subject 20
TINS debt TO. Henry T. Garnett. who
soon afterward removed from West
moreiand county TO Alabama. The
farm was next sold to Charles L. Je;t.
who lived there five or six years
Daniel Payne died. and the farm w.
sold at trustees sale the executors
buying IL in, thus making il a part of
the Payne estate. Mr.. Payne's heirc-s
Betty Payne. became the wife in 1876
OF Dr. illiam Writ, son of the WI
liam Writ. distinguished lawyer. who
was born at Bladensburg, attended
school in Georgetown and Rockviiic,
and boarded with Samuel W. Ma
sruder who lived in a house called
Locust Grove. still standing. on thu
"osd leading from Beane on tho old
Georcetown-Rockville road. to Bells
mill. on Cabin John creek. In 1886 thu
Washington farm was sold by Dr. and
Mrs: Writ TO John F. Wilson of Mary
land. whose son. John T.. married
Miss Betty Washington. a grand
daughter of William Augustine wash
ington. The farm, less than a certain
are. bought by the United States. re-
mains in possession of Mrs. Wilson.
widow.
THE government bought, "A strip for
An avenue leading from a long
pier which it built out into the Po..
tomac at the mouth of Bridges
creek. and past the Washington
cemetery to the site of the birthplace
/! house. There it bought small piece
OF land for the monument. covering
the site of the vanished house and
Its garden. The costly pier was
never OF any use. The landing place
was difficult for river steamboats,. and
steamboat captain years ago told
The Star man that the government
made regulations that were SO un-
satisfactory to steamboat men that
they refused to stop at that wharf
1t decayed until only the piles re.
NAMED. and within the past Few years
/ ice. carried along by the wind and
tide has removed The piles. Nobody
uses the roadway. which the govern
| ment inclosed with wire fencing
PERSONS visiting the site Of the birth
place house usually 90 from Fred
erl"ksburg or from Colonial Beach
and, striking the state highway from
Freder1cksourg to Moa.r rose at Oak
Grove. follow that for a nile and n
haif and then turn east for mile
and three-quarters along the private
! road of the Wilson's. passing the Viii
son house and coming to the rnonu-
ment. Then. perhaps. they may fol-
low the governments birthplace lane.
| north. to the cemetery. returning to
the birthplace and then starting bact
over the Wilson lands TO the stat.
road along the neck" The proposi-