Photo courtesy of George Washington's Mount Vernon
George Washington was in love. By the spring of 1758, he knew that he had met the woman that he planned to marry. Her name was Martha Dandridge Custis. One year earlier, her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis, died. She was left a widow albeit a very wealthy one as she inherited 17,000 acres and 290 enslaved persons as part of the Custis estate.
While George was in love, he faced two problems. First, he was still serving in the middle of a world war known as the French and Indian War. Unfortunately, that war was not going well. The second problem was his house was too small. It also wasn’t technically his house. Not yet.
He was doing his best to handle the first problem by training and disciplining volunteers in the Virginia Regiment. In 1758, Washington relied on Alexandria both for supplies and fresh recruits to protect over 300 miles of Virginia frontier from terrible bloodshed brought on by frequent Indian attacks on frontier settlers.
Three years prior to his courtship of Martha, George Washington served during the Braddock Campaign, which was a major setback for Great Britain in its war against France. General Braddock’s defeat at the Monongahela plunged the western frontier of Virginia into a state of chaos. Homes were burned and poor families were murdered. That problem needed to be solved, and Washington alone could not do it.
The second problem was the small house on a property called Mount Vernon. Washington had more control over this problem. However, he needed to rely on a few friends and skilled workers from Alexandria. The fact that it wasn’t “his” home didn’t mean he couldn’t expand it. In 1758, Washington leased the property from the widow of his half-brother Lawrence. Lawrence Washington had been married to Anne Fairfax of Belvoir. When Lawrence died of tuberculosis in 1752, he left behind the property that he had named “Mount Vernon” to his daughter, Sarah. Unfortunately, in 1754, Sarah died at a young age. The property passed to Anne. Anne re-married and moved away from Mount Vernon. She leased the property to a 22-year-old George Washington in 1754. Washington officially inherited the property when Anne died in 1761.
To expand the modest farmhouse at Mount Vernon, George Washington had a fantastic idea to hire an Alexandria joiner named John Patterson. Patterson’s work was on full display with improvements that he made to the Fairfax County Courthouse. After Alexandria became a town in 1749, the Fairfax Courthouse moved to the center of Alexandria in 1752. It remained in Alexandria until 1800 when Alexandria became part of Washington D.C. However, when the courthouse was built in Alexandria, Washington took note of the handiwork of Patterson. Washington was so impressed with Patterson’s work that he selected him to be his carpenter. Patterson was responsible for the first phase of the Mount Vernon house expansion in 1758.
Today, we refer to Washington’s house at Mount Vernon as the “Mansion House.” At the beginning of 1758, it was not a mansion but a simple four-room colonial brick farmhouse. Washington saw potential for it to be something bigger and grander. This meant building both up and out. To this end, Washington made the decision to raise the house and add a third story and make more room on the second story for additional bedrooms. How did Patterson go about accomplishing this? He literally took the roof off the house and built up from there. In fact, Patterson explained this process in a letter to George Washington. In the letter dated June 17, 1758, Patterson told Washington, “I shall take the roof off the house.” As Patterson and a team of carpenters set about raising the home, they also added two additional “closets”, which were one-story rooms that extended the house to the north and south.
As Mount Vernon expanded, Washington could not personally inspect Patterson’s work. By the summer of 1758, plans were put in place for a renewed attack on the French forces at Fort Duquesne. Colonel George Washington’s Virginia Regiment expanded to nearly 1,000 volunteers. His forces fell under the command of a patient and skilled British general named John Forbes. As Washington was away from work at Mount Vernon, he became increasingly frustrated with the slow communication between him and Patterson. Furthermore, Washington’s property manager Humphrey Knight suffered from severe health problems and later died that year. As a result, Washington leaned on his friend George William Fairfax to supervise the project and provide him with the assurance that the project was moving along as planned.
George William Fairfax was the son of Colonel William Fairfax, who was George Washington’s first employer and helped him get his start both as surveyor and later as a military officer. Colonel Fairfax was the father-in-law of George’s half-brother, Lawrence. This is how George was able to meet and befriend the Fairfax family of Belvoir. Washington and George William Fairfax were good friends and embarked on Washington’s first survey expedition in 1748. Col. Fairfax was an early trustee and founder of Alexandria. His son, George William, also became a trustee. While George prepared to marry Martha in 1758, there is strong evidence suggesting that he had a crush on his friend George William’s wife, Sarah Cary aka “Sally” Fairfax. Nothing improper happened. But Washington wrote Sally several letters laced with innuendo that indicated he had strong affection for her.
If George William Fairfax was aware of a possible romantic interest that George had for his wife, he either looked away or did not care. In fact, he remained friends with Washington. By the late summer of 1758, George William Fairfax was more than willing to supervise the work at Mount Vernon. On September 1, 1758, Fairfax wrote Washington from Mount Vernon, “I thought it best to come over here to see whether anything was necessary to have your further advice upon.” Later in the letter, Fairfax hinted at getting the work done before the weather turned cold. Thus, in a follow-up letter sent on September 15, Fairfax specifically mentioned going to Mount Vernon to “spur on” Patterson to complete the work. Washington also discussed with Fairfax his displeasure with the floors that were being put in places as the house was raised. Fairfax assured Washington that with respect to the floors that he would “endeavor to make your directions the Standard and follow them as near as Possible.”
As the work continued at Mount Vernon, the military problem was finally solved by December 1758. Unlike Braddock’s defeat, the Forbes Campaign was an overwhelming success. In fact, the French abandoned Fort Duquesne. The British were able to seize control of the forks of the Ohio River and built a new fort called Fort Pitt in honor of William Pitt. Today, we know the location of Fort Pitt as the city of Pittsburgh.
On the heels of British victory, Washington resigned his commission in the Virginia Regiment. He did that in December 1758. It was the first time that he gave up command and returned to private life. But it was not the last. When he retired in 1758, he had finished fighting for the British Empire. When he retired in 1783, he did so after fighting against the British Empire.
After Washington’s first retirement, he married Martha on January 6, 1759. They were married at the White House in New Kent County, Virginia. However, plans were put in place to relocate Martha and her children to Mount Vernon. In early April 1759, the family moved to Mount Vernon and a newly expanded Mansion House. It was a big move for Martha, but she would come to love the home and the life that she and George set out to build together. George was 27 years old and happily married. He had a new bride, and a newly renovated house. There was a lot of work to be done to Mount Vernon and he would look to his vast network in Alexandria to help him make the plantation a successful commercial enterprise.
In December 2025, Mount Vernon re-opened after extensive renovations that closed off portions of the Mansion House. The house is now open for tours and guests to come see where America’s first president and first lady lived together, beginning in 1759. The house has re-opened in time for America’s 250th Birthday. As visitors go to Mount Vernon, it is important to reflect on the history of the property and remember how George Washington relied on his friends and professional tradesmen from Alexandria to undertake the first phase of the house expansion in 1758.
Photo courtesy of Tim Rose
Tim Rose
Tim Rose is a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps, he served 10 and a half years in the infantry, developing a deep respect for the leadership of figures such as George Washington. After moving to Alexandria in 2021 and exploring the many sites connected to Washington, he immersed himself in researching the city’s rich past.
He later left a corporate career to found Alexandria History Tours, a company dedicated to telling the story of the city through its commerce, architecture, and experiences from the colonial era to the present day.
Passionate about uncovering quirky and obscure details in Alexandria’s landscape, he continually researches new stories to share, including a Revolutionary War tour honoring local veterans who fought and died for American independence. Grounded in a deep faith in God and devoted to his beautiful wife and daughter, he lives by the values of faith, family, and country.
For more information about his business, visit Alexandria History Tours.
