George Washington's beloved Mount Vernon began as a one and one-half story farmhouse built in 1735 by his father, Augustine, and received its well-known name during the ownership of his half-brother Lawrence. George acquired Mount Vernon in 1754, and over the next 45 years slowly enlarged the dwelling to create the resplendent 21-room residence we see today. Washington personally supervised each renovation; advising on design, construction and decoration -- even during the Revolutionary War. Conscious that the world was watching, Washington selected architectural features that expressed his growing status as a Virginia gentleman planter and ultimately as the leader of a fledgling democratic nation.

George Washington died in his bedchamber at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799. His last will outlined his desire to be buried at home at Mount Vernon. Washington additionally made provisions for a new brick tomb to be constructed after his death, which would replace the original yet quickly deteriorating family burial vault. In 1831, Washington's body was transferred to the new tomb, along with the remains of Martha Washington and other family members. Today, the gently wooded enclosure that surrounds the Washingtons' final resting place is a lovely, fitting space to pay homage to the Father of Our Country and the first First Lady.

In 1780, George Washington confided to his aide Anthony Sherman that a beautiful female apparition appeared to him and revealed America's future. The strange vision inspired Washington's poetic farewell address in which he warned the against "permanent alliance with foreign owners, big public dept, a large military establishment, and the devices of small, artful, enterprising minorities to control or change government." There have been numerous reports of Washington's ghost here. Most to his stables on Mount Vernon, just as he did on the wintry night he died.

In the spring of 1806, the story recounts, Quincy arrived at Mount Vernon to speak with Bushrod Washington, intent on staying the night as a guest. In Figures of the Past's narrative, Quincy, Jr., explained that while he was in Washington, D.C. at the time, he was too young to remember the actual event. While the accuracy of much of Quincy, Jr.'s book should be doubted, this particular story was one that he claimed was ingrained within his memory because it was "constantly referred to in the family circle." What was this story that was important enough to have been such a frequent topic of family conversation? The tale was "my father's only ghost story."

Upon Quincy III's arrival at Mount Vernon, Bushrod Washington assigned his guest to the Washington's bedchamber, "the chamber in which his uncle had died." For dramatic effect, Quincy, Jr. explained that "Judge Washington. . .as he withdrew," mentioned "the rumor that an interview with Washington had been granted to some of its [the Washington bedchamber] former occupants." Upon hearing the news from Bushrod, Quincy's father "pondered upon the possibility that he might be found worthy to behold the glorified spirit of him who was so revered by his countrymen." It seems that even George Washington's ghost was revered by Americans.

The warning proved to be prophetic, according to Quincy, Jr., explaining that "during the night" his father "did see Washington." However, Quincy, Jr., qualifies that "this is all I have to say about it" because if he gave more details, he would have to consult an "expert in cerebral illusions." Despite the younger Quincy's hesitation to give more details, he assured readers that his father's "assurance in this matter was perfect," and that his father "believed that brain action. . .was at times set up in us by friends no longer in the flesh, and that his own life had been guided by these mysterious influences."

Even though Quincy, Jr. claimed to not want to relay more of this incident, his writing seems to indicate otherwise. With little transition the narrative continued by telling of Bushrod Washington allowing Josiah Quincy III to enter Washington's tomb, "a custom connected with the hospitalities of Mt. Vernon in Judge Washington's time," and an act that "would be scarcely possible among persons of refinement at the present day." Quincy hints at a possible cause for George Washington's ghost to be lingering at Mount Vernon, explaining that the "velvet cover of the coffin was hanging in tatters, it having been brought to this condition by the assaults of relic-hunters." Quincy concluded by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson's aphorism, "Care not to strip the dead of his sad ornament," because "of all fetiches [sic], with which the imagination contrives to associate the august spirits of the great," Quincy claimed, "such miserable shreds and patches are the most vulgar."