Mount Vernon and the surrounding lands had been in the Washington family for nearly 90 years by the time George inherited it all in 1761. Before taking command of the Continental Army, Washington was a yeoman farmer managing the 8,000-acre plantation, of which more than 3,000 acres were under cultivation. He also oversaw the transformation of the main house from an ordinary farm dwelling into what was, for the time, a grand mansion.

The red-roof house is elegant though understated, with a yellow pine exterior that's been painted and coated with layers of sand to resemble white-stone blocks. The first-floor rooms are quite ornate, especially the large formal dining room, with a molded ceiling decorated with agricultural motifs. Throughout the house are other smaller symbols of the owner's eminence, such as a key to the main portal of the Bastille -- presented to Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette -- and Washington's presidential chair. As you tour the mansion, guides are stationed throughout the house to describe the furnishings and answer questions.

You can stroll around the estate's 500 acres and three gardens, visiting the workshops, the kitchen, the carriage house, the greenhouse, the slave quarters, and, down the hill toward the boat landing, the tomb of George and Martha Washington. There's also a pioneer farmer site: a 4-acre hands-on exhibit with a reconstruction of George Washington's 16-sided treading barn as its centerpiece. Among the souvenirs sold at the plantation are stripling boxwoods that began life as clippings from bushes planted in 1798, the year before Washington died. A tour of the house and grounds takes about two hours. There are a limited number of wheelchairs available at the main gate. Private, evening candlelight tours of the mansion with staff dressed in 18th-century costumes can be arranged.

George Washington's Gristmill occupies the site of his original mill and distillery. During the guided tours, led by historic interpreters, you can meet an 18th-century miller and watch the water-powered wheel grind grain into flour just as it did 220 years ago. The mill is 3 mi from Mount Vernon on Route 235 between Mount Vernon and U.S. Route 1. Tickets can be purchased either at the gristmill itself or at Mount Vernon's Main Gate.