George Washington house

Few people know that George Washington visited Barbados in 1751 when he was 19 years old.

The private residence where the young George and his brother lived for two months is now a museum that provides valuable insights on how people lived back in the 18th century.

More than a quarter of a century ago ...

A visit to the George Washington House is an impressive immersion into the past of our island. The furniture on the ground floor reflects the Bajan lifestyle back in 1751 when the house was rented by the man who would later become the first president of the United States of America. Visitors can take a closer look at a traditional bedroom, with a four-poster bed, a somewhat lumpy mattress, and the necessary mosquito netting. The room also hosts a face basin and ewer (large jug), as well as the chamber pot placed under the bed – yes, that’s right, no one on the island had an indoor bathroom back then!

Besides the bedroom, you can visit other rooms furnished accordingly with chairs, a marble table, a stone jar for filtering water, and many items of crockery and cutlery.

The only country ever visited

Barbados was the only country George Washington ever visited outside colonial America. And for this reason alone, this House is worth a visit. Another interesting fact regarding Washington’s stay on the island refers to him having contracted smallpox - a deadly disease 250 years ago. Records from that time reveal that George Washington was treated by the local physician, Doctor Lanaham, a man little known outside the island, but whose care and dedication to his patient had a significant contribution to American and world history. And it is for this reason, the second floor of the George Washington House hosts a series of 18th-century medical appliances and in-depth descriptions of each exposed item.

The museum is located in Historic Bridgetown, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Click here for more details … https://barbados.org/george_washington.htm#.XJzmZZj7SHs