Mount Vernon Restored To Its Original Vision

FROM TOP NATHAN ELL ASSOCIATED PRESS THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATIONMount Vernon, Va. Always an assiduous public-image crafter, George Washington paid meticulous attention to both his personal appearance and that of his beloved Mount Vernon estate, where he constantly received friends, associates and admirers.He raised the roof of the house he inherited; added wings, a porch and a cupola; and selected, along with his wife, Martha, the interior's paint colors, wallpapers and furniture.Were he alive today, the father of our country-who was also a forgiving man, cognizant of his own potential errors-might well be pleased with recent activities at his plantation on the Potomac. The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, which in 1860 took possession of a dilapidated home nearly devoid of its contents, has been trying ever since to restore it to its appearance in 1799, when Washington died. But, dealing with incomplete or no information, mistakes were made.This year, the nation's 250th anniversary, Mount Vernon is edging toward completion of a multiyear, $50 million project-aided by new technologies, new research and newly resurfaced documents-that is reversing inaccuracies in the bedroom where he really slept, the study where he and Rochambeau likely plotted their strategy for Yorktown, and the rest of the mansion.Some critical changes are imperceptible. Because age, termites and water had attacked wooden beams, the house sat unattached on its foundation; it has been reaffixed, and moisture levels controlled. Deteriorated framing elements have been restored to their 18th-century state or replaced. A modern, but hidden, truss system is shoring up the study's floorboards, made necessary not only by the weight of thousands of visitors, but also by the inaugural opening next October of the 18thcentury cellar below.