He wished to see things grow, not so much for the actual increase in value which that indicated, as because increase seemed to be a proof of proper methods.
Not content, therefore, with rounding out his holdings at Mount Vernon and Mrs.Washington's estate at the White House, he sought investment in the unsettled lands on the Ohio and in Florida, and on the Mississippi.

It proved to be a long time before the advance of settlement in the latter regions made his investments worth much, and during the decade after his marriage in 1759, we must think of him as a man of great energy and calm judgment who was bent not only on making Mount Vernon a model country place on the outside, but a civilized home within.

In its furnishings and appointments it did not fall behind the manors of the Virginia men of fashion and of wealth in that part of the country.

Before Washington left the army, he recognized that his education had been irregular and inadequate, and he set himself to make good his defects by studying and reading for himself.

There were no public libraries, but some of the gentlemen made collections of books.