BARBADOS: Washingtons home in the Caribbean

The Associated Press

February 25, 2007

The newly renovated Barbados home where George Washington lived as a young man in 1751 has attracted hundreds of visitors from the United States and Britain only weeks after opening, officials said.

The George Washington House and Museum, completed in mid-January after an eight-year restoration project costing nearly $3.5 million, honors the first U.S. president and documents his time in the Caribbean.

The site in the Garrison Historic district, just outside Bridgetown, includes a yellow home in the Caribbean Georgian style with green shutters and louvered windows, stables, a bath house and a windmill.

Washington came to Barbados - the only foreign country he ever visited - at age 19 with his older half-brother, Lawrence, who suffered from tuberculosis. Doctors had recommended Lawrence try to recover in the island's warm, tropical weather.

During his two-month stay, Washington rode around the island on horseback, saw his first play and fireworks show, and met the governor and generals. He also contracted smallpox, making him immune to the disease when it later claimed lives during the American War for Independence.

"Barbados had an incredible effect on the young George Washington. It was like a kid from the mountains going to Paris for the first time," museum director Penelope Hyman said. "Bridgetown was a huge town compared to anything he had ever seen." Hyman said the site hopes to add a genealogy center, noting

8 million Americans have roots in Barbados.

George Washington House and Museum

georgewashington

barbados.org