On December 2, 2024, National Park Service archeologists and their partners began excavating a Colonial-era building located in the Memorial Area of the park. The excavation site will be open to the public through the end of December, weather dependent, providing visitors with a unique opportunity to see the archeological remains of what is known as Building Y.
In the early 1930s, the Wakefield National Memorial Association created all the buildings in the Historic Area as part of the nation's commemoration of Washington during the bicentennial of his birth. The Association constructed these buildings to be suggestive of a colonial farm complex, and did not construct them based on historical or archeological evidence of buildings that existed here in the 1700s.
Built to commemorate the birthplace of First President George Washington, the monument was placed in 1896 by the U.S. War Department at the believed location of his birthhouse. It was moved to its current location at the entrance to the park in 1931.
The Wakefield National Memorial Association and the National Park Service had different ideas about how the memorial garden should be created at George Washington's birthplace. In the end, the groups worked together to form a garden that is one of the most visited locations in the park.
The Wakefield National Memorial Association planned for the Log House to be a place for refreshments and overnight accommodations. Unfortunately, the group did not have as much success as hoped for and the Log House was closed. Today, the Log House is used as a meeting and conference space.
Industrialist and philanthropist, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was a major benefactor in the creation of George Washington Birthplace National Monument. Not only did he donate almost half the land of the current park boundary, he also supplied three of his retired Morgan horses to the park and established a precedent that has lasted until today.
The Washington Family Burial Ground is the final resting place of multiple generations of the Washington family. George Washington's father, grandparents, and great-grandparents, among others, are buried in this small family cemetery.
