(gentle string music)
– One of the best-known stories of the 18th century
is the story of young George Washington and the cherry tree.
Now, while historians have gone back and forth
about whether the story’s true or not,
what’s not in dispute is that this is the place
where that story would have taken place.
We’re at Ferry Farm on the banks
of the Rappahannock River in Virginia.
– [Narrator] Professor Phillip Levy and a team
of archeologists are exploring the remains
of George Washing’s boyhood home
for clues about life in colonial America.
– This is the farm where the Washington family came in 1738
when George Washington was about six years old,
and it’s where Washington lived
until he was in his early 20’s.
(mellow guitar music)
The Rappahannock River right over here is a tidal river.
That means that you could take an English vessel in London,
load it full of goods, send it all the way
across the Atlantic and all the way
up the Rappahannock River to right here
to unload it literally almost
at the door step of the Washington farm.
– [Narrator] The colonial economy depended
on trade with England.
British Merchants sent textiles and manufactured goods
like stoneware to the colonies, and in return,
American ships carried products such as lumber
and tobacco back to England.
Britain founded the first English settlement
in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607,
and eventually, twelve more colonies were established
along the Atlantic Coast.
Phillip finds a classic every day object
from this time period.
– I have a fragment of an 18th century stoneware beer mug.
This is kind of a nice one
because it’s got a crest of George the 3rd on it.
Very common objects in the English world,
objects, tankards, things like this
with a royal seal on them.
And not surprising to find on the Washington farm.
(royal music)
– [Narrator] After all, George Washington
was a British subject, as were most colonists.
Phillip’s team unearths another artifact
that was part of daily life in the colonies.
(upbeat music)
– The object that I have here is a horseshoe.
It’s made of iron and is nailed to the bottom
of a horse’s hoof to protect the soft part of the hoof.
These are disposable objects, they get used
and when they’re worn down, they’re taken off
and replaced and thrown away.
So we find lots of these on the site.
Horsemanship is a core component
of the identity of these people,
and Washington was no different.
– [Narrator] Phillip shares the most exciting artifact
they found at the Washington home.
(slow, mysterious music)
– Every now and then you find something
that really does seem to connect
to a particular individual person,
and this pipe may well be that for this site.
– [Narrator] Pipes were wide spread and smoking tobacco
was commonplace since it was a major crop grown in Virginia.
– This is a regular middle 18th century
English molded clay pipe, but this one’s special
because it’s got a masonic crest on the inside
and with towers on either side.
– [Narrator] George Washington was a Free Mason,
a secret fraternity started in Europe that was rumored
to have great influence in politics and society.
– Most decorated pipes have decorations
that face outward so other people can see them.
This one seems to be a private message for the user.
This matters to us because we know from the records
of the Masonic Lodge #4 in Fredericksburg
that Washington was initiated into their order
in 1752, right around the time that he was living here.
The logic of 18th social networking
and social mobility is one of connections.
You have to know people, and the masonic order
creates the possibility for Washington
to meet powerful people.
(bright, inspiring music)
– [Narrator] The future president
would later marry Martha Custis.
Mount Vernon became their home about 50 miles away
from Ferry Farm, closer to what is now Washington, D.C.
We may never know what happened with George Washington
and the cherry tree, if it happened at all,
but the artifacts archeologists continue to uncover
reveal new insights into what life was like
in the early years of our country,
especially for wealthy landowners like George Washington.
(bright piano music)
