Fascinating History

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Bill Binzel for sending this interesting piece of history.

Bill writes:

"The Mount Vernon Ladies Association, a nonprofit organization, was formed in the 1850's to raise funds to purchase George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, which had fallen into a state of neglect and disrepair. They purchased the property in 1858, and members of the MVLA began conducting tours there in 1860. (The MVLA still owns the property and nearly 100 million people have visited the estate since 1860, and on nice afternoons, such as today, Lisa and I enjoy a walk around the grounds.) There is a relatively new exhibit at Mount Vernon, with the log book of those who visited the property in February 1862. Note the signatures of Robert Todd Lincoln, Lucy Lambert Hale, and John Hay. Miss Hale was the daughter of NH Senator John Parker Hale, and it is said that both R.T. Lincoln and Hay were interested in her romantically. However, Miss Hale became engaged to an actor, John Wilkes Booth. The engagement ended when her fiancé assassinated her father's friend (President Lincoln appointed Sen. Hale to be Minister to Spain). A picture of Lucy was found in Booth's pocket as he lay dying on the Garrett's front porch."