Mount Vernon grist mill and distillery

Our extensive tour of Mount Vernon left us no time to explore the rest of Washington's enterprises, so we hopped the bike the next day (Friday) to finish our tour.  Washington continued to add to his acreage, buying up small farms as they became available, until his Mount Vernon holding comprised 8000 acres.  Three miles from the mansion he built this grist mill.  At this point the mill is beside Douge Creek, which provided shipping access to the Potomac, but the water was too slow moving to run the water wheel.  His mill expert scouted the property until he found enough grade to provide the water flow needed to turn the wheel.  About two miles away the holding pond was built, then connected to the mill with a hand dug race.  The project took 2 years, and the final race was lined with wood planks.  Quite an undertaking in the late 1700's.  Nearby a cooperage was built because of course, barrels were needed to ship the flour to other countries.

Rebuilt mill on original site.  Washington insured his buildings, and the insurance company kept the detailed plans of each building.  When the buildings burned or were let go after Washington's death, the plans were still in existence so the buildings could be rebuilt in detail as they were originally and on the original sites.  This area is also owned and operated by the same group that runs the mansion.  We visited the visitor's center/gift shop first. (It was originally the manager's house and was also built to spec and on the original site.)  We showed our tickets, then joined a costumed interpreter for some introductory information.  As with the mansion, we were handed off to other interpreters inside, then to another inside the distillery. 

This mill replaced the smaller one built by his father.  It was fitted with two sets  of mill stones.  A very finely grooved  French set for the production of high-quality wheat flour for export, and a coarse cut made in this country for grinding corn for plantation use.

We saw a demo of corn grinding.  

Always the entrepreneur, Washington automated his mill in 1791 with a system developed and patented by a Delaware engineer.  The Evans system featured bucket elevators to move wheat and flour from floor to floor to greatly improve production. From this floor, the miller could control the flow of the water and the speed of the turning stones with just two levers.

In 1791 Washington hired a new farm manager,a Scottish immigrant with experience in the milling and distillery industries.  Anderson proposed the construction of a whiskey distillery adjacent to the mill since the key components were already in place:  ample grain, a gristmill and water.  Completed in 1798, it was one of the largest in America

By 1799 it had become one of Washington's most successful enterprises, producing 11000 gallons of rye  whiskey which netted Washington a profit of $1858.

Two of the five stills.  Today the stills produce Washington's original mash once a year in one and three distillations.  The pint bottles-- $95 for 80 proof and over $100 for the 120 proof--sell out in a day.

This whiskey wasn't aged.  It was put into barrels and shipped locally and overseas.  A good deal of it was sold right from the distillery.  Behind the building were holding pens for cattle and pigs (not rebuilt, nor were the slaves' cabin.) The strained mash as well as the leftovers from the grist mill were fed to this stock, which in turn fed the plantation.  Washington didn't waste much.  He was always reusing and recycling. 

After our tour we returned to our house for lunch and a rest before we took the bike to my nephew's house.  Eric and Irva invited us to dinner.

That, another story.

Louise and Duane