4. Mount Vernon Had Five Farms, Not Just One
George Washington needed as many slaves as he could keep on his grounds because Mount Vernon didn’t just have one farm but five. Washington had to make sure that all of the farms connected to Mount Vernon had enough slaves to make sure the work could get done daily. Many historians feel that because Washington had so much work that needed to get done, he realized that the slaves needed to remain healthy and this is why, while slaves received punishment, it became a rare occurrence.
In total, Mount Vernon had about 8,000 acres that needed tending. The five farms on the land included the Mansion House Farm, Muddy Hole Farm, River Farm, Union Farm, and Dogue Run Farm. In fact, for some of the farms, Washington noticed that there weren’t enough slaves to perform the work, so he decided to rent slaves from neighboring plantations. On top of this, Washington also had a Distillery and Gristmill that used over 100 slaves.