February 11, 2020
A Restored House
By Stuart Powell Presidents’ Day, which we will celebrate Monday, February 17, now honors all presidents, but in the late 1870s it was originally set aside as a federal holiday to honor only one—our nation’s first president, George Washington, born February 22, 1732. Let’s fast-forward to the end of that remarkable man’s life. On December 14, 1799, George Washington died at the age of 67. His death occurred less than three years after completing his service as first president (1789—1797) and then retiring to his beloved Mount Vernon estate. When his widow, Martha Washington, died in 1802, the Virginia property






