West Ford (ca. 1784-1863)

West Ford, born enslaved in the household of George Washington’s brother John Augustine, was brought to live at Mount Vernon ca. 1802. Taught to read, write, and do arithmetic, he became a skilled carpenter and was freed at the age of 21. For more than 50 years he was a plantation manager at Mount Vernon, becoming well known in the area. Ford inherited more than 100 acres from Bushrod Washington in 1829; he sold the property and bought 214 acres here in 1833. This land became the nucleus of a vibrant free African American community that continued to expand after the Civil War. Ford, the “Father of Gum Springs” and one of the wealthiest Black men in Fairfax County, died at Mount Vernon in 1863.