Something that was important to us, and especially to Bunny, when we visited Mount Vernon, was paying our respects at George Washington’s final resting place:

It is a much simpler crypt than Lincoln’s Tomb, which we visited in 2015.


We also saw the original burial vault, in which Washington was temporarily interred. Because the original vault was showing wear, he left instructions for a new family burial plot, which wasn’t completed until 1831, 32 years after his death. The original burial location is the one Marquis de Lafayette visited and at which he spent some time of mourning and reflection.

Despite the fact the Washington wished to be buried at Mount Vernon, Congress attempted to have him buried in a crypt underneath the then-new Capitol building. His wife even gave her consent (I will assume she was grief-stricken and not thinking straight), but fortunately, the project in D.C. was never completed, and Washington’s final wishes were honored.