The house was built about 1773, and Washington made it his headquarters during the Continental Army encampment between December 1777 and June 1778. The restored building is part of Valley Forge National Historical Park and is open to the public. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972.[2][3]
Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge are located between PA Route 23 and the Schuylkill River in Valley Forge National Historical Park. It is a two-and-a-half-story three-bay Georgian vernacular stone structure with a full cellar and a side gable roof. A one-and-a-half-story ell extends to the left. The main entrance is in the left-most bay, sheltered by a gabled hood. There is a secondary entrance on the right end wall. The gable ends have pent roofs below, and a circular window on the north wall.[3] The interior is decorated with period 18th-century antique and reproduction furnishings representative of what George Washington would have had at the house.
The house was built at some point between 1757–73 by a member of the Potts family, a Quaker family who operated iron forges, saw mills, and a grist mill nearby. George Washington, and later his wife Martha as well, occupied this house from late december 1777 until June 18, 1778. Washington conducted the army's business in an office on the ground floor during that period.[3] The house became part of Valley Forge State Park in 1905, which was given to the people of the United States by Pennsylvania in 1976.[6]
The Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge,[7] led by Founding Regent Anna Morris Holstein,[8] was incorporated in 1878 with the purpose of saving, acquiring, preserving General Washington's Headquarters[9] and immediate surrounding acreage. A large Centennial event to create awareness and raise funds was held on June 19, 1878, the 100th anniversary of Washington's Army exiting Valley Forge.[10]
