Generations of Americans have expressed reverence for George Washington at his birth site, and the park reflects a century of memorial efforts. In 1923, on the eve of the bicentennial of Washington's birth, interested citizens set out to create a memorial landscape here, including the Memorial House, colonial kitchen, brick walkways, and an extensive cedar grove. When built, the Memorial House and colonial kitchen represented a best guess at the historic appearance of Popes Creek Plantation, but it is now known that they bear little resemblance to the structures that stood here in 1732. These early commemorative efforts led to the designation of Washington's birthplace as the first historic site in the National Park System in 1930. With the later addition of workshops and farm buildings, the area became a working colonial farm. Builders of the Memorial House believed its location marked the site of the birth house, but six years later archeologists confirmed the birth house foundation one hundred feet away.