MOUNT VERNO.N (ante), the home of George Washington, in FairfaX co., Virginia, on the right bank of the Potomac, 17 in. s. of Washington. The Washington mansion is of wood, 2 stories high, 96 ft. long, and 30 ft. deep. It was built in 1743, by Washington's elder brother, Lawrence, who called it Mount Vernon, aftar admiral Vernon, under whom he had served in the British navy. It is on a wooded bill from which there is a beauti ful view of the Potomac, down to which a lawn of 5 or 6 acres slopes. A high piazza runs along the front of the house. which has 6 rooms of moderate size on the ground floor. They contain many objects of historical interest. The library was designed by Washington himself, but at present contains little of the original furniture. Most of Washington's books are in the possession of the Boston Athenmum. The tomb of Washington is a few hundred yards from the house, near a wooded ravine. The body
of Washington was removed thither from the old family vault in 1831. An effort was made in 1832 to secure the removal of the body to the crypt of the capitol at Washing ton, but the representatives of the family refused. Mount Vernon, which had been much enlarged' by Washington, was by him bequeathed to Bushrod Washington, upon whose death it came into the hands of his nephew, John A. Washington, who sold it in 1858 to the Ladies' Mount Vernon association for $200,000, of which $68,494.59 was the contribution of Edward Everett. The association hold the place in trust, as a place of public interest; and upon the dissolution of the association, or its failure to perform the objects for which it was formed, Mount Vernon will revert to the state of Virginia.