Sandy Point estate that was once home to Mary Ball Washington. Photo courtesy of the Historical Marker Database.
George Washington is certainly one of the most well-known and revered individuals in American History. Though much is known about our first president and his life here in Virginia, much less is known about his mother, Mary Ball Washington and relationship shared by the pair.
Mary was born and spent her childhood years in Lancaster County at Epping Forest. Mary’s father died during her infancy and her mother passed when she was twelve. As an orphaned child, Mary had to leave her childhood home and became a legal ward of her uncle, Colonel George Eskridge. Eskridge served as the Burgess of Westmoreland and Mary came to live with him at his estate at Sandy Point in Westmoreland County.
A roadside marker stands in Mundy Point as a reminder of the estate that was once home to the presidents mother. It reads:
Here at Sandy Point, Mary Ball, George Washington’s mother, spent her youth in the home of her guardian, Colonel George Eskridge. Here she married Augustine Washington in March 1731. She is supposed to have named her eldest son, George, for Colonel Eskridge.
The marker is located on Sandy Point Road (County Route 614) 5.3 miles east of Cople Highway (Virginia Route 202), on the right when traveling east.
In 1731 Mary was introduced to Augustine Washington and the pair was married soon after. The couple relocated to Pope’s Creek where they gave birth to their firstborn son George, who was likely named after Mary’s Uncle. Augustine Washington died in April of 1743 and Mary was left in charge of the family and it’s assets. Mary remained single for the remainder of her life.
Stories of George and his mother suggest that their relationship was strained at times. She often was said to offer motherly advice that George did not necessarily agree with. It has also been told that she often complained of struggling financially and repeatedly pled for financial assistance from her son.
Mary died of breast cancer in 1789. It is noted that George displayed publicly that he was in mourning for his mother. Oddly enough, he never laid a gravestone for this mother and one was not placed until much later in 1833.
