6. Many Slaves Worked Inside the Walls of Mount Vernon
During George Washington’s time, Mount Vernon was one of the most beautiful plantations in Virginia. Washington frequently had visitors staying at Mount Vernon. On top of this, Washington strived to live like an elite gentleman of his times. Therefore, he spent hours every day making sure he followed the rules he needed to remain an elite gentleman in the eyes of the United States. However, in order for Washington to live this type of life, he had to make sure the work inside the mansion ran as smoothly as possible.
Several slaves worked in the mansion to keep the day to day tasks going. Not only did Washington have a cook and a gardener who focused on the grounds close to the estate, but had had several slaves who took care of the daily tasks. Caroline Branham, Frank Lee, Molly, and Charlotte took care of tasks like cleaning, taking care of the children, helping Martha with daily tasks, making beds, washing clothes, scrubbing floors, sweeping, starting the fires, dusting furniture, and emptying chamber pots, and any other tasks that needed to be completed.
