Hemp at Mount Vernon
I think George Washington possessed courage and wisdom far beyond his years. He grew hemp.
I recently visited George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate on the Potomac River in northern Virginia. I went to learn more about the estate’s hemp crop and Washington’s life there.
Mount Vernon re-introduced hemp in 2018 after an absence of some 220 years. Hemp—certain types of the cannabis plant—had been an important crop for Washington at the estate in the second half of the 18th century. He utilized the fiber from hemp stalks to make twine to repair the giant fishing nets supporting his commercial fisheries on the Potomac. He also used hemp fiber for sail canvas, sacks, clothing, even shoelaces. After his death in 1799, hemp growing waned at the estate.
Changes in federal law starting in 2014 began the process of decriminalizing hemp throughout the United States. This paved the way for hemp’s return to Mount Vernon, which today preserves Washington’s home and legacy.
Takeaways
1. Hemp returned to George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in 2018 after a hiatus of some 220 years.
2. The estate now grows a small plot of hemp each year so that visitors may witness how laborers in Washington’s time planted, harvested, and processed the plant.
3. Hemp had been an important crop for Washington; he used the plant’s strong fiber to repair the fishing nets supporting his commercial fisheries on the Potomac River.
The estate’s hemp crop today—planted annually on some 750 square feet of land on the property’s four-acre Pioneer Farm—pales in size compared to the acres of hemp that Washington grew. (For context, one acre equals 43,560 square feet.) That’s because Mount Vernon did not bring hemp back to grow it in large amounts to sell or use in products. Instead, the tiny hemp crop supports the estate’s historical mission by interpreting life in Washington’s time for visitors to experience.
“Washington told the land manager to plant hemp wherever there was space.
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“I love being able to tell more of a story here at Mount Vernon,” Dean Norton, the estate’s director of horticulture, told me during my tour of the Pioneer Farm in late August 2021. “Hemp is a wonderful interpretive addition to this area that people love seeing,” he said. Like hemp, Norton has had a long history at Mount Vernon. Not only has he been horticulture director since 1980, his employment with the estate spans 52 years, all the way back to 1969.
Visitors in spring and summer months can now witness staff members in period costumes tending to the hemp, using 18th century tools and methods to plow and prepare the plot and sow the seeds. Then, they can view—and smell—the hemp plants as they sprout up and mature and watch as workers harvest the plants and set them to dry. Guests can then observe staff demonstrating the old-fashioned steps to strip the fiber from the hemp stalks and clean and comb the strands.
Historical interpreters at Mount Vernon in 2018 handle bundles of harvested hemp plants. Photo courtesy of Mount Vernon Estate
Located less than 10 miles south of Alexandria, Va., Mount Vernon lies on the Potomac’s western bank. The hilly estate grounds are beautiful, with sprawling open grass areas and lush swaths of trees hosting the stately Mount Vernon mansion, farming and livestock areas, gardens, orchards, a wharf, and the tombs of Washington and family.
Washington, a Virginia native, called Mount Vernon home from April 1759 until his death in December 1799 at age 67. That said, he spent considerable time away from the estate during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) when he led the Continental Army to victory over British forces and later when he became the first president of the fledgling United States republic, serving two terms (1789-97).
“What is so wonderful about the Pioneer Farm site is you can actually talk about Washington and farming with freshly turned soil and the smell of manure.”
When Washington moved in, his new wife, the widowed Martha, joined him, along with her two young children from her previous marriage: John “Jacky” Parke Custis and Martha “Patsy” Parke Custis. The property had been in Washington’s family for many decades prior, and he had lived there for a time in his childhood and often visited there. Washington fully inherited the land in 1761.
During Washington’s time, some 3,200 acres of crops grew at Mount Vernon—which comprised nearly 8,000 acres of land in total by the time of Washington’s death—on the five farms on the property: Dogue Run Farm, Mansion House, Muddy Hole Farm, River Farm, and Union Farm.
In addition to his accomplishments as a soldier and statesman, Washington was an innovative farmer. “Washington loved farming,” said Norton during my tour. “He and the Founders thought it incredibly important—that they had this responsibility—to try to improve agricultural practices across the board. They knew that they were the ones to do it because the average farmer would only do what he knew. He didn’t dare take chances because a crop failure could be ruination for him.”
Mount Vernon’s hemp crop in 2018. This marked the first time in some 220 years that hemp grew on the estate. Photo courtesy of Mount Vernon Estate
Accordingly, Washington experimented with different growing techniques to identify what would be most efficient and successful. “He changed dates of sowing, he did multiple sowings, he did rows, he did hills, he did broadcast [sowing],” said Norton.
Initially, tobacco was Mount Vernon’s main crop. Later, Washington shifted to wheat since he found that tobacco overly depleted the soil and depended too much on English pricing—which fluctuated too wildly—to be profitable for him. He later abandoned tobacco altogether.
Eventually, Washington instituted a seven-year, seven-field crop rotation on each of the five farms that featured wheat as the principal cash crop, corn for the estate’s food needs, and legumes to regenerate the soil. This change proved to be much more favorable to the estate’s land management and to Washington’s pocketbook, said Norton.
Bust of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Photo by Michael Sirak
Hemp was an important, profitable crop for Washington, too, said Norton. “He wanted to have it grown here,” he said. Washington relied on the hemp’s bast fiber—the quite-strong fibrous material on the outer part of the hemp stalk—to maintain the fishing seines. “Without functioning nets, the profits he could reap from his fishing industry would diminish greatly,” said Norton.
The hemp grew on each of the five farms, but no one is sure exactly where or how many acres Washington grew. “There were no fields that were clearly identified for planting just hemp,” said Norton. “Washington told the land manager to plant hemp wherever there was space,” he said.
“The soil you are going to be sowing the hempseed in has to be thoroughly cultivated, and the [hemp] plant is a heavy feeder, so add a good bit of compost.”
European settlers brought hemp to Virginia in the early 1600s. For a time, the British crown mandated that colonial farmers cultivate the crop to supply fiber for cordage for British navy ships. Before the Revolutionary War, Virginia had become the top producer of hemp in the Colonies. In particular, the climate and soil conditions in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley—situated between the Blue Ridge Mountains (eastern boundary) and the Allegheny Mountain Range (western boundary)—made it a good place to grow hemp. Over time, colonists exported some hemp to England, but planted most of it for use at home.
At first, Washington grew hemp as a cash crop—and had even considered making hemp his primary crop before deciding on wheat—but later cultivated it only for the estate’s needs. Over the years, he used hemp varieties from East India, New Zealand, and North America, said Norton. After Washington’s death, Martha remained at Mount Vernon until she passed away in 1802. Thereafter, over time, the property fell into disarray. In the 1850s, a newly formed group called the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association began to raise funds to restore the estate to its 1799 appearance and preserve it. The estate opened to the public in 1860.
Mount Vernon’s four-acre Pioneer Farm in August 2021. Photo by Michael Sirak
Hemp remained an important agricultural commodity in the United States until the late 1930s when the federal government levied an onerous tax on growing it, essentially imposing a ban. During World War 2, there was a brief respite as the federal government encouraged farmers to grow hemp once again to support the war effort (e.g., hemp fiber for rope for US Navy ships.) Thereafter, the country reverted to the draconian clampdowns. By the early 1970s, the federal government had placed hemp—and all types of cannabis, for that matter—in the top tier of controlled substances, meaning they were outright illegal to grow and possess.
Today, hemp is the US government’s term for varieties of the Cannabis sativa L plant that contain less than 0.3 percent of the intoxicating substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) when measuring a sample by dry weight. These plants are federally legal since the government considers THC to be non-intoxicating when ingested in such concentrations.
Conversely, marijuana is the federal government’s term for cannabis that has THC in amounts greater than 0.3 percent; marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. Many states, however, allow use of marijuana—with much higher levels of THC—for medical purposes, and some states have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use.
“I never have seen a concentration of bees like I did. You could be approaching the hemp from 15 feet away and hear [the buzzing].”
When I began planning my trip to Mount Vernon and initially reached out to its staff, I thought I would take two trips to the estate in 2021 for this story: one to photograph the hemp crop in the field and a subsequent one to see its harvest. However, then came unexpected news.
It turned out that Mount Vernon had no hemp crop this year as in the previous three. Despite sowing the plot three times this spring, this year’s batch of hempseeds turned out to have a low germination rate, too inadequate, in fact, to make it viable for staff to expend more time and resources to yield enough plants to be of value, said Norton. “This was just one of those weird years,” he said. “That’s agriculture. There are no guarantees.”
Mount Vernon is by no means alone here, as I have heard of hemp growers across the country face similar challenges. Indeed, access to stable seed varieties with high yields in the varying climates of the United States is one of the “growing pains” of the nascent domestic hemp industry. I could have waited until 2022, but I decided to continue on with this story.
The Mount Vernon mansion. Photo by Michael Sirak
The estate established the Pioneer Farm in the late 1990s “to demonstrate, through interpretation, Washington’s love and passion for agriculture,” said Norton. Located near the estate’s wharf, the farm features eight small-sized cultivated fields, a 16-sided treading barn for horses to thresh wheat indoors, and areas for cattle, horses, and sheep. Seven of the fields highlight Washington’s crop rotation. The eighth field is for sundries. “What is so wonderful about the Pioneer Farm site is you can actually talk about Washington and farming with freshly turned soil and the smell of manure,” said Norton.
Since 2018, Mount Vernon has tried each year to plant the hemp crop in late April or in May, said Norton. Before sowing on one of the fields, staff members plow the area and then have livestock (e.g., oxen, horses) pull a harrow—a heavy frame with spikes pointing down—to loosen up soil clods, allowing for a smoother surface for more-even seed distribution. Then comes sowing the hempseed. “We have sowed in rows and also broadcast the seed. I much prefer using rows than broadcast,” said Norton.
In 2018, the first year of growing, Mount Vernon required a university partner. That’s because hemp was still illegal nationwide, although the federal 2014 Farm Act allowed for its cultivation as part of a university-led collaboration. (The Commonwealth of Virginia in 2015 passed legislation consistent with that.) Thus, the estate partnered with the University of Virginia (UVA) at Charlottesville which supplied the hempseed.
“I love being able to tell more of a story here at Mount Vernon. Hemp is a wonderful interpretive addition … that people love seeing.”
Norton worked with Michael P. Timko, the Lewis and Clark Professor of Biology at UVA, whose current research includes identifying locally adapted hemp varieties for the different soil types and microclimates throughout Virginia. Timko told me the hempseed he provided was of the Hlukhivs’ki 51 (H51) plant variety from Eastern Europe which is grown for its fiber and seed. Testing of H51 showed that it was extremely low in THC—only 0.01 percent—well below the federal limit, he said.
Back in 2018, there were limited commercially available hempseed options of US origin, so American growers looked to Canada or Europe, explained Timko. Plus, the hemp varieties that Washington planted are long gone from the United States, he said. “It is worth noting that many different things got labeled as hemp in the colonial days, and there is speculation that [farmers of that time] may have also been growing flax, kenaf, and some other fiber plants and calling them hemp,” he added.
After the 2018 Farm Bill became law in December 2018, growing hemp became federally legal once again throughout the United States. That meant Mount Vernon was now able to cultivate hemp on its own so long as Norton acquired a grower’s license each year with the commonwealth. Through the 2021 planting season, Norton continued to use H51 seeds that Timko provided as a courtesy.
Four years in, Norton and staff have observed that the hemp grows fast, often germinating within a week of planting. In some stretches, the plants have grown five inches or so in a day. “We even did a time-lapsed GoPro [video feed] in one day and you could see it grow,” he said. Lessons learned to date include: “The soil you are going to be sowing the hempseed in has to be thoroughly cultivated, and the plant is a heavy feeder, so add a good bit of compost,” he said.
A Mount Vernon historical interpreter in 2018 uses an 18th century brake device to separate hemp stalks’ outer fiber from their woody interior. Photo courtesy of Mount Vernon Estate
The hemp has been ready for harvest within 13 weeks of planting, said Norton. Harvesting involves cutting the hemp stalks near the base by hand with sickles, he said. “We then collect [them] into a bunch and stack the bunches together,” he said. As with the field preparation and sowing, estate staff take time with the harvest for the sake of visitors. “We want as many people as possible to see us harvest the hemp,” said Norton. “We will take the sickle and cut a few stalks and talk about it and then do a little bit more,” he said.
Next comes several weeks of retting during which the stalks dry in the field and moisture (e.g., dew) loosens the bonds between the bast fiber and the stalks’ outer bark and hurd (the woody interior). During Washington’s time, workers soaked the stalks in ponds for the same purpose of loosening those bonds, said Norton. Thinking it would be historically appropriate, Norton and his staff tried this approach by placing the stalks in the Potomac. However, the stalks floated and would not sink in the water, so he and his staff ended up moving the stalks back to the field to ret there, he said.
After retting, the stalks are ready for staff to begin stripping the bast fiber from the stalks. Norton supplements the estate’s stalks with dry stalks he gets from farms in Virginia to make sure staff have enough stalks on hand for this interpretive work. Staff members employ three steps: braking, scutching, and hackling.
“Washington loved farming.”
Braking involves using a wooden bench with a long, wooden arm attached. A worker smashes the arm down on the stalks to free up the fiber by breaking up the bark and hurd. In Washington’s time, a man could break 60 pounds to 100 pounds of stalks per day. This work wasn’t all about brute force, however, as smashing the stalks too hard could damage the strands.
During the next step, scutching, a worker hangs the fiber over a vertical board and, using a wooden knife, scrapes away the remaining pieces of hurd and bark still clinging to the strands. This activity also softens up the strands and begins separating them from one another.
The final step, hackling, is when a worker combs the fiber through a small bed of wooden or metal teeth to soften the strands further and align them.
Hemp farmers in Washington’s time bemoaned the fact that these activities were quite labor-intensive, said Norton. “Everyone commented on that,” he said.
The amount of fiber that Mount Vernon has yielded in each of the three harvest years to date has been about the size of a large ball, said Norton. Staff have composted the remaining parts of the hemp plants.
Mount Vernon historical interpreters in 2018 use a scutching board (right) and set of hackles (i.e., bed of nails on table) to remove lingering bark and hurd from hemp fiber and then to soften the strands. Photo courtesy of Mount Vernon Estate
Norton said the hemp crop in 2018, the first year of growing, was the best so far, reaching some eight feet in height. “It was amazing,” he said, noting, too, how relaxing it was to be next to the crop and smell the plants. Bees and birds also were drawn to the crop. “I never have seen a concentration of bees like I did,” he said. “You could be approaching the hemp from 15 feet away and hear [the buzzing].” The birds loved eating the hempseed, he said.
There was much interest in the hemp crop outside of the estate, too. Mount Vernon staff used social media to promote it, attracting many millions of visits online, said Norton. Major news publication wrote about it, and Norton spoke about its return to Mount Vernon at a hemp expo in September 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Equally significant, hemp advocates frequently highlighted the plant’s re-emergence at George Washington’s estate in their push on Capitol Hill for legalization of the crop nationwide, the milestone that came at that year’s end.
“I felt very proud to be part of the process that [helped] Congress pass a bill to allow farmers basically to be uninhibited growing industrial hemp and to recognize it is a very valuable crop,” said Norton. “Here we are a property that is 200-and-something years old and yet we were an important piece of that initiative,” he said.
The eight fields of Mount Vernon’s Pioneer Farm in August 2021. The opening near the top left was the space allotted for hemp in 2021. The sundries field is on the lower right. In the distance is the treading barn. Photo by Michael Sirak
Mount Vernon intends to plant hemp again in 2022 and keep hemp as a component of the Pioneer Farm each year, said Norton. He said he intends to use a different hempseed variety but had not yet identified it when we spoke. He seeks a stable fiber variety geared to the local climate.
2022 may be the year in which the size of the hemp plot expands from roughly 750 square feet to about 1,000 square feet, said Norton. Otherwise, he said he envisions no changes to the approach Mount Vernon has taken since 2018. That means the purpose of the hemp crop will remain for use in historical interpretation.
I encourage everyone to visit Mount Vernon and to support the estate. It relies solely upon private contributions to maintain Washington’s mansion and history.
As a huge proponent of the domestic hemp industry, I would love to visit Mount Vernon in coming years and be able to purchase souvenirs in the estate's gift shop made of fiber from hemp grown on the estate. That would signal to me that hemp once again has a solid footing in this country as it did in Washington’s time.
Sign at Mount Vernon’s Pioneer Farm highlighting George’s Washington’s farming innovations. Photo by Michael Sirak
Author’s Note: Unless I provided attribution in the text, information on Washington and on Mount Vernon’s history came from the estate’s website, its official guidebook, signs posted on the estate grounds, and videos at the estate’s YouTube channel.
The lead image is a stained-glass depiction of Washington (center panel, wearing hat) listening as the Declaration of Independence is read to him in 1776. This is one of several stained-glass illustrations capturing significant moments in Washington’s life (e.g., crossing the Delaware River, presidential swearing-in) on display in the Mount Vernon visitor center. I took the photo in August 2021.
