The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington

While more than 85 million visitors have descended upon George Washington’s Mount Vernon home since it first opened to the public in 1860, few tourists have seen the new National Library for the Study of George Washington, which remains nearly hidden from public view but within a short sheep’s bleat of the Mount Vernon estate. Chief Librarian and Archivist Mark Santangelo explains that the Library ‘s founders wanted to build a serious research facility, off the main tour, that would inspire scholarship and advance education. Although the facility is open to “the people” (and not restricted to academic-pedigreed patrons), visits are by appointment only.