Tag: washington

Happy Presidents Day – Fun Facts!

February 17, 2025
  • President’s Day was established in honor of President George Washington’s birthday. The federal holiday is officially called Washington’s Birthday.
  • President George Washington was born in Virginia on February 22, 1732.
  • Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, was born on February 12, 1809 , and is often honored on President’s day.
  • President Washington’s leadership during the Revolution and Constitutional Convention, and his unimpeachable character made him the ideal presidential candidate. He was unanimously elected president twice, in 1789 and 1792.
  • George Washington grew up on Ferry Farm where he learned the principles of agriculture.
  • Washington thought of himself first as a farmer.
  • George Washington expanded the Mount Vernon plantation to five farms where he studied and implemented innovative farming methods.
  • Washington visited Providence several times during his presidency.
  • George Washington is known to have visited the deputy governor of Rhode Island, Darius Sessions at Cole Farm. Sessions was married into the Cole family.
  • Cole Farmhouse was built by Richard Brown in 1731 — one year before Washington’s birth.

(source: https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/10-things-you-really-ought-to-know-about-george-washington)

The historic Cole Farmhouse in Providence, RI
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Happy Birthday President Washington! Thank you for staying at Cole Farm!

February 19, 2024

President Washington visited Providence, Rhode Island several times spanning from April 1776 through the presidency — see: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/rhode-island/

A few sources document the president’s visit to Cole family at the historic Farmhouse. Here’s one:

The Cole home has been preserved in as nearly as possible the form in which
it was when early members of the Cole family entertained Washington and
Lafayette, and contains among other relics of that day the chair in which
the commander-in-chief sat.

(source: http://theusgenweb.org/rigenweb/articles/170.html)

Providence Journal published an article on July 4, 1969, titled “An Irish Aside to Fourth of July” which features Miss Dorothy Denison Dunlop, a former owner of Cole Farmhouse, . Here’s what Miss Dunlop reported.

George Washington is known to have visited the deputy governor of Rhode
Island, Darius Sessions there. Sessions married into the Cole family”

The historic Cole Farmhouse in Providence, RI
Now available at Airbnb

Gilbert Stuart Museum

July 16, 2023

Meet the painter of George Washington’s famous portrait

Gilbert Stuart Museum (Photography by #USA1731)

Gilbert Stuart , one of America’s master portrait artists is best known for his portraits of George Washington. His birthplace is Saunderstown, RI and the snuff mill of the Stuart family has been authentically restored and open to visitors — see visit information at the museum’s website: https://gilbertstuartmuseum.org/ (note: while the website indicates that Guided Tours are given on a regular basis, they depend on volunteer availability).

AMERICANREVOLUTION.ORG reveals the story behind the third and most famous painting of Washington: When Mrs. Washington wanted a picture of the President for herself, she persuaded her unwilling husband to submit a third time to Stuart’s brush and company. In the stone barn in Germantown he used as a studio, the painter waited anxiously for Washington to ride out for the first sitting… Washington entered the barn with cold courtesy, sat down in the chair Stuart had provided, and clamped his face into the rigid expression he saved for portrait-painters. Stuart plunged into his fund of anecdote, but the face did not relax… Stuart commented on a local horse race; Washington made an animated answer and his face came alive. Then Stuart ransacked his mind for all he knew about horses, and soon the two men were actually talking. Stuart’s brush flew merrily in rhythm with his tongue. The conversation moved on to farming, a subject it had never occurred to Stuart to discuss with the Commander-in-Chief, and again Washington was interested.

President Washington’s passion to horses and to farming probably explains his historic visit to Cole Farm in Providence, RI (see: http://sites.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/articles/170.html “The Cole home has been preserved in as nearly as possible the form in which it was when early members of the Cole family entertained Washington and Lafayette, and contains among other relics of that day the chair in which the commander-in-chief sat.

Cole Farm was famous for its high-grade cows and for horse breeding. Read our blog post about one of the best Thoroughbred racehorses of the late 18th century : Hambletonian


#GilbertStuart #Washington #historic #RhodeIsland #USA1731#ColeFarm #Hambletonian

Photography by Chris Vaccaro https://www.rimonthly.com/gilbert-stuart-ris-most-famous-painter/

President’s Day is on Monday – Fun Facts!

February 18, 2023
  • President’s Day was established in honor of President George Washington’s birthday. The federal holiday is officially called Washington’s Birthday.
  • President George Washington was born in Virginia on February 22, 1732.
  • Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, was born on February 12, 1809 , and is often honored on President’s day.
  • President Washington’s leadership during the Revolution and Constitutional Convention, and his unimpeachable character made him the ideal presidential candidate. He was unanimously elected president twice, in 1789 and 1792.
  • George Washington grew up on Ferry Farm where he learned the principles of agriculture.
  • Washington thought of himself first as a farmer.
  • George Washington expanded the Mount Vernon plantation to five farms where he studied and implemented innovative farming methods.
  • A local Radio program reported that George Washington sat on a chair in Cole Farmhouse when he visited Governor Sessions.
  • Cole Farm was a little village with 100 inhabitants, famous for its herd of high-grade cows and for horse breeding.
  • Cole Farmhouse was built by Richard Brown in 1731 — one year before Washington’s birth.

(source: https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/10-things-you-really-ought-to-know-about-george-washington)

The historic Cole Farmhouse in Providence, RI
Now available at Airbnb