George Washington House

George Washington, destined to become the first President of the United States of America, spent about two months in Barbados in 1751. Barbados was his sole visit to a country outside of colonial America. This alone should make a tour of George Washington House, where he stayed while in Barbados, a must-do excursion for all American visitors. The House, which is currently under the management of the Barbados National Trust, is also of interest to other tourists, especially Barbadians, because it provides useful insights into life in 250-year-old Barbados.

The ground floor of the building is furnished in the manner in which it might have been in 1751. On display are such basic items as a four poster bed with a rather lumpy mattress surrounded by mosquito netting, which was much needed back then as protection against these little pests, a small face basin and ewer in one corner, and, under the bed, the all-important chamber pot, as there were no indoor bathroom facilities. Other rooms display other essentials for "civilised" living, such as seats of various types, a marble table top on which to set hot dishes, and numerous articles of tableware and silverware, some of which were salvaged from a nearby gully.

The building's second floor is wholly dedicated to exhibitions of goods typical of mid-eighteenth-century life, and the artifacts are richly documented with both visual and aural assistance. Pharmaceutical bottles, thumb lancets, and cupping glasses, which "were heated to create suction to bring blood to the skin's surface," are on display. An interesting piece is a reminder that Washington contracted small pox, a dangerous disease that was common at that time and quite regularly led in death to those who contracted it, thus Washington was fortunate in the doctor who cared him and helped restore him to health.

Google rating: 4.8/5.0
Location: Bridgetown, Barbados