Northern Neck Now

Wakefield, the site of George Washington’s birthplace, is a tract on Pope’s Creek, just off the Potomac River in Westmoreland County. The property was purchased in 1718 by Washington’s father, Augustine. Born on February 22, 1732, George Washington spent only his first three years here but returned at age eleven to study surveying with his half-brother Augustine, Jr., who inherited the property. The original Washington home burned on Christmas day, 1779. Its site was excavated in 1930 and 1936, revealing the foundations of a U-shaped timber-frame house. The present brick dwelling, the Memorial House, erected in 1930-31, reflects a typical medium-size planter’s house of the period. First known as Pope’s Creek Plantation, the George Washington Birthplace National Monument property was renamed Wakefield in the early 19th century. It was acquired by the Wakefield National Memorial Association in 1923, which transferred it to the National Park Service in 1932.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument