Alexandria — One of the little realized facts about George Washington was that in many ways he was a renaissance man. From our history books we know him as the Father of our Country, for his military leadership in the war for independence and as our first President. What is often less remembered, however, is that he also was a surveyor, experimental farmer, and overall innovator that included being a whiskey distiller.
Washington found ways during the colonial period to break the planters’ dependence on British business agents who controlled the price paid for tobacco and who supplied all the merchandise from the colonies to Europe. The agents’ control had the effect of keeping planters land rich and money poor. Although appearing to have an elegant lifestyle, the colonial planters were kept deeply in debt to these agents. Washington calculated he could break the system that was strangling him by shifting his farm from tobacco to growing food for the local market. In the 1760s he redirected his efforts to planting more grains, primarily wheat and corn. The switch to grains gave Washington a dependable cash crop, something tobacco did not provide.
In 1769, George Washington built a gristmill to turn his corn and grain crops into flour, rye, oats, and cornmeal. He also began developing revenue by grinding grain for neighboring farmers. But he found that trade in the grains was limited by the fact they would spoil if sent over long distances. There was one grain-related product, however, that was of great commercial value and traveled well without spoiling: distilled spirits, such as corn and rye whiskey. So Washington built a distillery next to his gristmill and developed a local trade in whiskey. In its day, it was the largest distillery in America.
George Washington’s Gristmill was dismantled in the 1850s. In 1932, the Commonwealth of Virginia constructed a replica of it after extensive archaeological efforts uncovered the foundation of the original mill. Virginia operated the mill until 1997 when it was transferred to Mount Vernon Association that, after five years of renovation, returned the mill and distillery to operational status. George Washington’s Distillery and Gristmill is opened to the public where it is today — at 5513 Mt. Vernon Memorial Hwy., Alexandria.
Contributors: These articles were prepared by the George Washington Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution (www.gwsar.org), who will be a participant in the George Washington Birthday Parade and events on Feb. 17. See www.washingtonbirthday.net.