High Winds Destroy Original George Washington Tree at Mount Vernon Estate

Mary Wadland March 3, 2018

1 Less than a minute

Photo courtesy of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Facebook page

On Friday, March 2nd the high winds snapped the trunk of a beloved hemlock tree George Washington had planted outside the upper garden gate.

It was 1791 when New York Governor George Clinton gifted Washington the sapling sending it in a half whiskey barrel. It was considered the best-documented tree on the Estate, according to their Director of Horticulture.

The tree was the most well-documented on the Estate.

The hemlock snapped midway up the trunk.

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Mary Wadland

Mary Wadland is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of The Zebra Press, the award-winning Alexandria news publication she founded in 2010 with a mission of celebrating community, culture, and all the good news happening across the city. A longtime community advocate and storyteller, Mary was selected for the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce inaugural 40 Under 40 class and has served as President of Living Legends of Alexandria since 2022. Known for her deep local roots, sharp editorial instincts, and passion for connecting people through journalism, she has spent decades chronicling the personalities, businesses, events, and civic life that make Alexandria unique. Originally from Delray Beach, Florida, Mary is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, and has been part of Alexandria’s publishing and media community since 1987.