George Washington Park

The George Washington Park is a tribute to George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) the United States' first president  (1789–1797) and  a central, critical figure in the founding of the United States.

Overview
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 (February 11, 1731) the first son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington, on the family's Pope's Creek Estate near present-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

George Washington was not a member of any political party and yet, the Electoral College elected Washington unanimously in 1789, and again in the 1792 election; he remains the only president to receive 100% of electoral votes.

The 1st United States Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year - a large sum in 1789. Washington, already wealthy, declined the salary, since he valued his image as a selfless public servant. His devotion to civic virtue made him an exemplary figure among early American politicians.

During Washington's funeral oration, Henry Lee said that of all Americans, he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

A famous quote
I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an 'Honest Man.

Trivia
One of the most enduring myths about George Washington involves him as a young boy chopping down his father's cherry tree and, when asked about it, using the famous line I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet. In fact, there is no evidence that this ever occurred. It, along with the story of Washington throwing a dollar across a river was part of a book of stories authored by Mason Weems that made Washington a kind of legendary figure.