One of the most iconic homes in America.

The Estate of a Virginia gentleman, planter, leader, General and first President of the

United Nation of America, George Washington.

www.mountvernon.org

Switzerland has long been known as a center

for finance and banking, as well as a producer

of elite products, from chocolate to watches

to machinery. George Washington—an accomplished farmer and a savvy general—admired and benefitted from the Swiss on both fronts. In a 1764 letter to Robert Carey, who often procured goods for the future president, George Washington inquired about “an engine lately constructed, I believe in Switzerland… for taking trees up the roots.”

When his army needed critical financial funding during the American Revolution, General Washington received assistance from Jacques Necker, a native of Switzerland, who helped secure resources from the French King.

A bust of Necker is now displayed in George Washington’s study at Mount Vernon.