George Washington and the Cherry Tree: Fact or Legend?
Short answer: It's a legend. The story of young George Washington chopping down his father's cherry tree and confessing "I can't tell a lie" was written by his early biographer, Mason Locke Weems, and first appeared in the 1806 edition of Weems's The Life of Washington. Mount Vernon and the National Park Service both say there's no evidence it happened.
Even so, the story is a big reason cherries and February go together. Washington was born on February 22, 1732, and for generations Americans have marked his birthday with cherry pies and cherry desserts.
The story as Weems told it
In Weems's version, six-year-old George is given a new hatchet and tries it out on everything in sight, including a young English cherry tree in his father's garden. His father, who prized the tree, asks who cut it. George hesitates, then answers:
"I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet."
Instead of punishing him, his father embraces him and says George's honesty is worth more than a thousand trees.
Where the story came from
Mason Locke Weems was a minister and traveling bookseller who published a popular biography of Washington shortly after the first president died in 1799. The first edition came out in 1800 and did not include the cherry tree. The story first appeared in the fifth edition in 1806.
Weems said he heard it from an elderly woman who had been a friend of the Washington family, but he never named her. The story would have taken place at Ferry Farm, Washington's boyhood home near Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Why historians call it a myth
No source: the only source is an unnamed woman, reported years after the fact.
No record: nothing from Washington's family, his own writings or his contemporaries mentions it.
A clear purpose: Weems wrote to teach moral lessons to young readers, and the story fits that goal perfectly.
Today both Mount Vernon and the National Park Service describe it as a myth.
Why the story stuck
A simple lesson about honesty, told about the country's most famous founder, was easy to repeat. It spread through schoolbooks, sermons and family storytelling, and it gave Americans a reason to serve cherries on Washington's birthday. That link between Washington, cherries and February is one reason February became National Cherry Month.
How to share the real story this February
Tell it on Presidents' Day, which falls on February 15, 2027, or on Washington's actual birthday, February 22.
Ask kids to guess whether it's true, then talk about how historians check stories.
Serve a tart cherry pie or cherry crisp while you tell it.
Frequently asked questions
Did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree?
There's no evidence he did. The story comes from biographer Mason Locke Weems and first appeared in 1806.
What did George Washington supposedly say?
In Weems's telling: "I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet."
Why do people eat cherry pie on Washington's birthday?
The cherry tree story made cherries a symbol of Washington, so cherry pies and desserts became a traditional way to celebrate his February birthday.
When was George Washington born?
February 22, 1732, at his family's plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Looking for more ideas? See 28 ways to celebrate National Cherry Month.
About the author: Andy LaPointe founded NationalCherryMonth.com and co-founded Traverse Bay Farms, a family-owned Northern Michigan tart cherry company, in 2001.
