This Fourth of July, We Celebrate George Washington for His Patriotism and His Surveying Skills
In addition to being our first President, George Washington was a great many other things too: statesman, general, farmer, soldier…and surveyor. Yes, a surveyor!
In honor of our nation’s 248th birthday this month, let’s learn more about how the Father of Our Country spent some of his early years in the then-colony of Virginia, applying the tools of the surveying trade centuries before Allen & Company became a leader in this industry. We’re honored to share in this great discipline that continues to shape many facets of our world.
Long before he reigned as the lord of Mount Vernon near what became the nation’s capital city—not coincidentally named for him—George Washington spent his formative years on a plot of land called Ferry Farm, located on the Rappahannock River about 50 miles south. The future military and political leader had to grow up fast when his father, Augustine, died when young George was only 11—leaving him “the man” of the farm in charge of caring for his mother and younger siblings. (George’s older brother, Lawrence, inherited the property at Mount Washington, which George would one day claim as his own.)
A collection of George Washington’s surveys—including this one of his farm from 1766—is archived at the U.S. Library of Congress.
Always on the quest to expand his horizons even as a young man, George—who had only a rudimentary, nonformal education—opted to strike out on his own as a surveyor as a teenager. By the age of 16, America’s first President was already surveying land far from the family confines at Ferry Farm and soon found himself in what was then the Virginia frontier, assisting George William Fairfax in taking detailed measurements of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Fairfax family was part of early America’s landed gentry; they even lent their name to a county, which today is home to over a million people as well as portions of Dulles Airport. Even though George was only 17 at the time, the Fairfax family connection helped him secure a position as the surveyor of newly created Culpeper County; those crucial connections in high society would serve him later on, paving the way for him to court his eventual wife, Martha Dandridge.
Not only was surveying a noble and exacting profession, but it could also bring in a substantial fortune, especially for someone as busy as Washington, whom the Library of Congress credits with 199 surveys conducted during his journeyman days—including of the D.C. suburb of Alexandria. George seldom stopped long enough to set down his compass.
During the Seven Years’ War between England and France—or what we in the Colonies called the French and Indian War—Washington’s surveying and wayfinding skills came in rather handy when he joined the Virginia Regiment. By then a skilled veteran of mapmaking, Washington’s familiarity with the untamed frontier of Indian territory in what is today western Pennsylvania and Ohio—to say nothing of his natural abilities as a leader—saw him quickly advance within the ranks, eventually rising to full colonel and de facto leader of the entire Virginia Regiment.
Washington’s familiarity with natural terrain enabled him to outmaneuver several French garrisons in the Ohio Valley, burnishing his reputation throughout Colonial America and around the world. And if you’ve ever been to Pittsburgh, you can thank Washington for “discovering” it as he once created a map of a key strategic point at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers during the war; the city stands there today. (A statue overlooking Pittsburgh recreates Washington’s 1770 meeting there with the Seneca leader Guyasuta.)
George Washington’s career as a professional surveyor would need to take a backseat again to world affairs, as on July 4, 1776, on a sweltering day in Philadelphia, the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Thirteen disparate colonies, without a centralized professional military, faced the unenviable prospect of squaring off against the British Crown, the world’s greatest armed power. They needed a leader, and there was only one man for the job: Washington.
Following years of war, Washington served as the new nation’s first president (Washington started the tradition of opting to be called “Mr. President” rather than such royalty-adjacent honorifics as “Your Excellency”). Washington eventually retired to Mount Vernon for the last time in 1797. He seldom gloried in his significant past accomplishments, opting instead for a quiet life with his family—while still occasionally picking up those surveying tools.
It all started with a curious teenager and his surveying kit on the shores of the Rappahannock River. So as you drive to a barbecue, ballgame, or fireworks display this Fourth of July, keep in mind that in addition to the hundreds of overhead satellites directing your GPS which turns to take, you can thank George Washington for being not only a Founding Father but a faithful surveyor and mapmaker who helped make those digital maps possible.
