Tombstones of Mr. And Mrs. Dodge in the shade of an historic oak tree at Pohick Church Cemetery
On May 19, 1937, Harrison Howell Dodge passed away suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage. This would end his 52 year tenure as the Superintendent of the Mount Vernon Estate, a record of service that stands today. On May 21st, following funeral services at St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington DC, his body was carried in state down the 5 year old George Washington Memorial Parkway, through the grounds of the Mount Vernon Estate to his final resting place at nearby Pohick church. Dodge, like George Washington, was a member and Vestryman of this “Mother Church of Northern Virginia”.
The Tombstone of Harrison Howell Dodge at Pohick Cemetery
Dodge was a native of Washington DC, born in the city on March 31, 1852. In 1871, he graduated from Columbian college (now George Washington University). He married Elizabeth Knowlton of Peoria, Illinois in 1873 and was appointed the third Superintendent of Mount Vernon on June 26, 1885. While census records through the years show him primarily as a resident of the District of Columbia, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t spend some nights at Mount Vernon. He and his assistant superintendent, Charles Cecil Wall, who succeeded him as superintendent, took turns sleeping as guards at the manor house.
Harrison Howell Dodge from “Mount Vernon: It’s Owner and Its Story”
Dodge oversaw many improvements to the Mount Vernon Estate during his service including:
- Doubling the acreage of the Estate from 200 to 476 acres.
- Restoring the mansion’s cornerstone, boat landing and kitchen gardens.
- Removing the summer house that was added after Washington’s time.
- Rebuilding the smoke house and the ha-ha wall.
- Repairing Houdon’s bust of George Washington.
- Filling the mosquito-infested “Hell Hole” swamp.
- Replacing kerosene lamps with an electric lighting system proposed by Thomas Edison.
- Henry Ford’s donation of a fire engine to protect the Estate.
In addition to these physical improvements, perhaps one of Harrison Dodge’s largest contributions to Mount Vernon is his writing. Dodge kept a detailed diary of his time as Superintendent of Mount Vernon. He documented attendance statistics, the weather, visiting dignitaries and restoration efforts. During Harrison Dodge’s tenure, more than 25 million visitors came to the Estate including Presidents, celebrities and representatives of foreign governments. Dodge enjoyed recounting stories of the visits in his book “Mount Vernon: Its Owner and Its Story” published in 1932. In one anecdote, Dodge reveals that he conspired with a famous benefactor to provide Thanksgiving dinner to the Rector of Pohick church and his family. When the Rector phoned Mount Vernon in the afternoon to ask who had provided the meal, Dodge revealed that thanks were due to his friends “the President of the United States and Mrs. Roosevelt.” Harrison Dodge’s written record of the people and events in the history of Mount Vernon are a priceless legacy.
“Mount Vernon: Its Owner and Its Story”