Fleshing Out a Founding Father

"We are not raiding the mansion" of any of its treasures, Rees says. In the past the house had only 100 rotating artifacts; the new galleries have 700 objects, some never displayed before. These include an easy chair that belonged to Washington's mother, Mary Ball Washington. There are also many letters; Washington was a prolific correspondent, and 25,000 of his letters are still in existence.

Each of the new buildings is named after one of the primary donors for the new expansion.

The first building visitors will enter is the Ford Orientation Center, funded principally by the Ford Motor Co. Fund, which gave $7 million to the capital campaign and whose founder gave Mount Vernon its first firetruck, in 1923.

It will give visitors a bird's-eye view of Mount Vernon: A 10-foot-high miniature of the estate house, with 700 reproduced features and 16,000 shingles, resides in the orientation hall. The 22-room model offers a view of the third floor, including the garret chamber where Martha Washington withdrew to mourn and burn the couple's letters after her husband's death. The actual floor is normally closed to visitors.

The second new building, which visitors will enter after touring the historic house, is called the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center, built with a $24 million gift from the late media baron's Las Vegas-based foundation. Most visitors will see it as a single museum, though the Mount Vernon staff considers part of it a museum and part of it an education center.

Other donors to the new buildings include Robert H. Smith and Clarice Smith, and the Mars candy family.

The imposing house on the Potomac River was the center of much of Washington's life. He acquired the homestead in 1754 (the property was granted to his great-grandfather in 1674). The mansion has been owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association since 1858 and is managed with private funds.

Mount Vernon , 16 miles from Washington, is open every day of the year, including holidays. Admission is $13 for adults and $6 for ages 6-11. The estate is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. November through February. For hours at other times of the year and additional information, go to http://www.mountvernon.org/ .