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Article: Rediscovering George Washington; 200 Years After His Death, Mount Vernon Program Aims to Humanize an Icon
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 11, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Used to be that visitors to Mount Vernon, George Washington's
sprawling plantation on the Potomac, knew something about the
country's first president or, failing that, at least could voice one
of the apocryphal stories about him. The wooden teeth. The cherry
tree. That sort of thing.
Then came the day last year when a visitor to the 500-acre
riverside estate 16 miles south of Washington asked where the
mountain was. Mountain? What mountain? the confused guide
responded.
Turns out the visitor was looking for Washington's visage -- on
Mount Rushmore. (Hint: It's in South Dakota.)
James C. Rees, resident director of Mount Vernon (it's in Fairfax
County), tells this story to underline the ...