Site of Washington's boyhood home found

Washington Post:

On a swath of land overlooking the Rappahannock River 50 miles south of the District, archaeologists have unearthed a site that provides what they call the most detailed view into George Washington's formative years: his childhood home.

The announcement of the find today comes after seven years of digging and several disappointments.

"What's so great about this dig is that when people talk about Washington, they always talk about his adult life," said David Muraca, director of archaeology for the George Washington Foundation, which owns the Ferry Farm property, where the remains of the house were found. "So this will expand the knowledge about his early years."

Washington lived from age 6 until about 20 in what was once a clapboard-covered wooden structure. He lost his younger sister Mildred there, then his father, Augustine. And if it is true that the battered bark of a cherry tree signified Washington's first test of honesty -- a question some historians debate -- then that, too, happened there.

It was always known that Washington grew up on the property, but until now, no one could locate the remains of the house on the 113 acres of land or the artifacts buried inside.

...

Besides the cherry tree story one of the other myths about Washington's youth was throwing a silver dollar across the Potomac. In reality he threw the coin across the Rappahannock, a much narrower river. The river is just north of Fredericksburg where Washington's mother, Mary, was from.

Mary Washington University was an all girls school until fairly recently and was a favorite haunt of Marines going through officer training at Quantico, Va. which is nearby. You knew I could work a Marine Corps reference into this story.

The NY Times has a more complete story on the find and Washington's boyhood.