30′×58′ Foundation of old structure known as building “X.” Uncovered by National Park Service in 1930. Re-excavated 1936.
Drawn by George Washington in 1750 (copy)
It is not known when George left the Popes Creek plantation for the last time as a youth, but he must have departed with a touch of sadness. The joys and pleasures of life on such a busy and beautiful tidewater plantation must have been unforgettable to the tall, teenage boy.
The Disastrous Fire
George’s elder half brother, Augustine Washington, Jr., the second owner of the Popes Creek home, died in 1762. The plantation passed to his son, William Augustine Washington, George’s eldest nephew. William Augustine took title in full in 1774 when his mother, Ann Washington (who had a dower life interest in the estate), died. About this time the Popes Creek plantation, for the first time, was called “Wakefield,” a name said to have been inspired by Oliver Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield, and which has endured.
During the latter part of the American Revolution, when General Washington was leading the Continental Army in the north, his birth home in faraway Virginia caught fire and burned to the ground. Indirect evidence and tradition indicate that the house was destroyed Christmas Day, 1779. At the time of the fire the structure was owned by its third and last owner, William Augustine Washington. According to his daughter, Sarah Tayloe Washington, her father noticed the roof burning while returning from a ride. It is believed that a spark from the chimney blew through the small garret window and set fire to the house. The home which had sheltered three generations of Washingtons for half a century was never rebuilt by them.
A Century of Neglect
After the disastrous fire at Wakefield, 36 years passed before the birthsite was marked. Finally, in 1815, George Washington Parke Custis (a grandson of Martha Washington and a ward of George Washington) visited Popes Creek and, in an imposing ceremony, marked what he considered to be the spot. Custis, in a letter to the editor of the Alexandria Gazette, described his visit in the following language:
In June, 1815, I sailed on my vessel, the “Lady of the Lake”, a fine topsail schooner of ninety tons, accompanied by two gentlemen, Messrs. Lewis and Grimes, bound to Popes Creek in the County of Westmoreland, carrying with us a slab of freestone, having the following inscription:
“Here
The 11th of February, 1732, (Old Style)
George Washington
Was Born.”We anchored some distance from the land, and taking to our boats, we soon reached the mouth of Pope’s or Bridge’s Creek, and proceeding upwards we fell in with McKenzie Beverly, Esq., and several gentlemen composing a fishing party, and also with the overseer of the property that formed the object of our visit. We were kindly received by these individuals, and escorted to the spot, where a few scattered bricks alone marked the birthplace of the chief.
Desirous of making the ceremonial of depositing the stone as imposing as circumstances would permit, we enveloped it in the “star spangled banner” of our country, and it was borne to its resting place in the arms of the descendants of four revolutionary patriots and soldiers.
We gathered together the bricks of an ancient chimney that once formed the hearth around which Washington in his infancy had played, and constructed a rude kind of pedestal, on which we reverently placed the FIRST STONE commending it to the respect and protection of the American people in general, and the citizens of Westmoreland County in particular.
Bidding adieu to those who had received us so kindly, we re-embarked, and hoisted our colors, and being provided with a piece of cannon and suitable ammunition, we fired a salute, awakening the echoes that had slept for ages around the hallowed spot.