Americans have been giving thanks with feasting dating back to 1541, according to the National Park Service, but President George Washington didn’t declare Nov. 26 a national day of thanks until 1789.
Washington was not the only U.S. president to issue proclamations around the November holiday.
In 1815, President James Madison called for a national day of prayer and thanksgiving, and in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise.”
Washington also kept turkeys at Mount Vernon, although Lisa Pregent, senior manager of livestock at the historic site, says there’s not a lot of information about them.
“I believe there is some documentation of Martha possibly purchasing turkeys to raise at Mount Vernon while General Washington was away during the Revolutionary War,” Pregent said.
While Washington made the proclamation calling for an official day of thanks, it’s not clear what the Washingtons had on their Thanksgiving table.
“But turkey was the main ingredient in the Yorkshire Christmas pie, and that was served on the Washingtons’ table for Christmas,” Pregent said.
The birds served up for dinners would not have looked like today’s domestic birds, but, Pregent said, “Turkeys would have been on the tables back then.”
The birds that today’s visitors see at Mount Vernon are Narragansett turkeys, a breed that Pregent said was developed in New England and may have descended from a bird brought to the colonies as early as the 1600s.
“We just finished their poultry yard a couple of weeks ago, so they are located along with the new hogs that we have. And you can see them in their yard,” Pregent said.
While the turkeys are regarded as “easy keepers,” Pregent confesses that the sheep kept at Mount Vernon are among her favorite animals on the site. The Hog Island sheep are “thinkers,” she said.
“Some are very timid, some are very bold. There’s always a watcher in the flock,” she said, noting they all have “their different personalities.”
Pregent said there are a number of holiday events at Mount Vernon, including “Winter Glow,” where Mount Vernon is “illuminated by lights, it’s absolutely stunning.”
And another furry visitor will be joining the winter holiday festivities. Aladdin the camel visits from a Virginia farm each Christmas season, and yes, there’s an historical link. George Washington paid 18 shillings to have a camel brought to Mount Vernon from Alexandria, Virginia, for Christmas in 1787.
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