Dove of Peace - Mount Vernon Estate
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member robert
N 38° 42.480 W 077° 05.173
18S E 318601 N 4286439
Weathervane atop Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington
Waymark Code: WM11TJ
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 12/18/2006
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member showbizkid
Views: 73
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Made in 1787, this weather vane is certainly unique! George Washington added the final piece to his Mount Vernon Estate. From the Mount Vernon website: "Another Washington addition to the house was a cupola -- which served as both a decorative rooftop element and a practical device. With windows open, the cupola helped to cool the house on sultry summer days. After the war, Washington added to the Mansion its final crowning touch -- a dove of peace weathervane atop the cupola." From the Library of Congress website: "His instruments for recording the weather were few, but one in particular is notable. His prized weather vane has survived the changing winds and still serves atop the cupola at Mount Vernon. The vane is in the shape of a dove of peace, the copper body bound with iron strips and the bill with olive branch fashioned from a piece of iron. The bird is forty inches long, and the wing from tip to tip measures thirty-five inches. The vane was made in Philadelphia, by Joseph Rakestraw, in July or Aug. 1787, and was sent immediately to Mount Vernon. Washington wrote his nephew George Augustine Washington, 12 Aug. 1787, that the bill of the dove was to be painted black and the olive branch green. This color scheme is no longer maintained today, the vane having been covered with gold leaf to deter corrosion of the copper body."
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