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Founding Fathers

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Washington, D.C.

Signers’ Memorial

Engraved in stone on a little Island are the signatures of everyone who signed the Declaration of Independence.
George Washington's bar tab would be worth a staggering $15,600 today.
presidents

Drink Like a Founding Father

Make one of President George Washington's favorite cocktails.
Diana Hubbell October 21, 2024
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

1758 Sun Inn

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin all slept at this humble inn.
Alexandria, Virginia

George Washington Memorial Tree

In 1932, Americans honored their first president's 200th birthday by planting trees.
London, England

Benjamin Franklin House

One of America's founding fathers lived in this London lodging between 1757 and 1775.
Filmmaker Ken Burns's lauded documentaries include <em>The Civil War</em>, <em>Baseball</em>, and <em>The National Parks: America's Best Idea</em>.
film

Ken Burns on His Obsession With Ben Franklin, and Admiration for Guy Fieri

The documentary filmmaker talks about a founder's flaws, radical openness, and road tripping for a sandwich.
Matthew Taub April 5, 2022
Small beaches along the Potomac River
Indian Head, Maryland

Chapman State Park

A state park that once served as an important river crossing, and now offers protected lands for endangered plants and animals.
Monticello’s 1,000-foot-long garden terrace served as both a source of food and an experimental laboratory.
museums

At Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Garden Is Still Growing

Restoring the grounds and its rare, heirloom crops recreated what was effectively the country's first seed bank.
Eric J. Wallace April 21, 2020
A bottle of Washington's whiskey.
Alexandria, Virginia

George Washington’s Whiskey

Taste the white whiskey that the United States' first president once distilled and enjoyed.
Congress gets its first gander at the Declaration of Independence in this painting by John Trumbull.
independence day

The German-Language Newspaper That Got the Scoop on American Independence

On July 5, 1776, only the "Pennsylvanischer Staatsbote" reported the big news.
Daniel Crown July 3, 2019
It's good to be the first First Lady.
objects of intrigue

Martha Washington Used a Government Perk to Cancel Her Newspaper

Just four of her "Free Franks"—letters delivered without postage—are known to survive.
Matthew Taub May 6, 2019
Tombstone of Thomas Jefferson at the University of Missouri.
Columbia, Missouri

Thomas Jefferson’s Original Tombstone

The obelisk meant to mark the founding father's grave at Monticello is actually on the University of Missouri campus.
A bottle of madeira discovered by the Liberty Hall Museum in Union, New Jersey, as part of a cache from the 18th and 19th centuries.
food

How a Thirst for Portuguese Wine Fueled the American Revolution

Madeira taxes stoked tensions, then paid for the war.
Daniel Crown December 13, 2017
The statue at the Smithsonian.
Washington, D.C.

Bare-Chested George Washington

Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.
The footbridge to the island.
Washington, D.C.

Theodore Roosevelt Island

The national park was once a plantation estate.
Exterior of the building.
Newburyport, Massachusetts

Newburyport Maritime Museum

A historic custom house with ties to George Washington is now a shrine to local nautical history.
Monticello.
archaeology

Found: The Remains of Sally Hemings' Small Room at Monticello

It was right near Thomas Jefferson's bedroom.
Sarah Laskow July 3, 2017
Washington Monument Access Hatch
Washington, D.C.

Washington Monument Access Hatch

Daredevil repair workers can worm their way out the access hatch, loop ropes over the apex and rappel down the monument.