Wood That Looks Like Stone

The Mansion was constructed of wood but made to appear as though it were built of stone through rustication. Pine siding boards were cut and beveled to resemble stone blocks, then painted and covered with sand on the wet surface to create a stone-like texture. This treatment made the Mansion seem more substantial and extensive, while also wearing well and protecting the wood siding boards. The warm buff color seen today replicates the appearance created after the last round of sand painting ordered by Washington in 1796, when he instructed his farm manager, James Anderson, to use crushed sandstone from nearby Aquia Creek instead of the lighter colored Chesapeake Bay beach sand used earlier. In 2011, Mount Vernon staff reintroduced off-white paint and Aquia sand in keeping with eighteenth-century practice.

Mount Vernon, Virginia · United States