Check out Part I of this story here:
What If? 1996 George Washington Boyhood Home - Part I / Historical BackgroundAnd now the story of the proposed coin...There are several coins within the modern US Commemorative Coin series that feature the adult home of a US President: 1982 George Washington 250th Anniversary of Birth Half Dollar (Mount Vernon), 1993 (1994) Thomas Jefferson 250th Anniversary of Birth Silver Dollar (Monticello), 1993 Bill of Rights / James Madison Half Dollar and Silver Dollar (Montpelier) and 1999 Dolley Madison 150th Anniversary of Death Silver Dollar (Montpelier). What hasn't been issued is a coin that commemorates a US President's boyhood home. (The 2009 "Birth and Early Childhood"
Lincoln Cent depicts a log cabin that is representative of Lincoln's boyhood home, but is not definitive.)
I have previously written about a "Boyhood Home" coin that was proposed within the Classic-Era Series, though not that of a US President:
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What If? 1934 Stonewall Jackson Birthplace MemorialIn September 1994, however, things almost changed as Herbert H. Bateman (R-VA) introduced a bill to strike Silver Dollars "in commemoration of George Washington's boyhood home." When it was introduced, it had 66 co-sponsors - it eventually had 106. Upon introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, with a further referral to that Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Credit and Insurance.
The bill called for the striking of up to 500,000 Silver Dollars.
The Silver Dollar was to carry a design that was "emblematic of a profile of George Washington and a depiction of his boyhood home, commonly referred to as the "Ferry Farm", on the Stafford County banks of the Rappahannock River opposite the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia." A surcharge of $12 was to be included in the coin's issue price and the George Washington Boyhood Home Foundation was to receive the collected surcharge funds "for the purpose of restoring, preserving, and developing the boyhood home of America's first President."
Restoring the Washington home was not a straightforward project. The original house occupied by the Washington family, including George, had long before been replaced by new structures in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. In addition, at roughly the same time as when the bill was introduced (September 1994), the current house on "Ferry Farm" was the target of arson and burned beyond repair. This, obviously, wreaked havoc with the Foundation's existing restoration plans and, with the Foundation's plans TBD, the coin bill was not supported in Committee and ultimately died for lack of action.
In January 1995, Representative Bateman and the George Washington Boyhood Home Foundation tried another tact in Congress, this time seeking a grant "for the stabilization, preservation, and interpretation of the archaeological resources and visual integrity of Ferry Farm, boyhood home of George Washington, America's first President." The bill was referred to the House Committee on Resources, but went no further.
Note: Ownership of the property has changed hands over the years, with private owners and preservation group owners at different times. From what I found in contemporary reports, the George Washington Boyhood Home Foundation sold the property to the Kenmore Association (a group organized in 1922 to save Kenmore, the Fredericksburg home of George Washington's sister - Betty Washington Lewis) in 1996. The Kenmore Association soon thereafter changed its name to the George Washington's Fredericksburg Foundation and then simply to The George Washington Foundation. The property is currently administered by this Foundation.Years later, in 2008, the foundation of Washington's original boyhood home was discovered during an archaeological dig on the property and it was eventually decided that a replica house would be built upon it; the replica home was opened to the public in 2018.
Replica of George Washington's Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm - Front View
(Image Credit: The George Washington Foundation.Replica of George Washington's Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm - Back View
(Image Credit: The George Washington Foundation.To learn more about Ferry Farm, visit:
Historic Kenmore and George Washington's Ferry Farm.
I'm glad to see that plans for George Washington's Boyhood Home moved forward even without Congressional approval of the Silver Dollar or grant. I realize we can't reasonably preserve every home of every President, but holding on to important aspects of the life of the US' first President under the US Constitution seems (at least to me) an admirable effort. I would have supported this coin program if it had come to fruition.
For more of my stories about commemorative coins and medals, including other stories of George Washington coins, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 09/22/2024 7:30 pm
Uncirculated American Silver Eagles 
to the CCF
