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Barbados: George Washington slept here

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- The newly renovated Barbados home where George Washington lived as a young man in 1751 has attracted hundreds of visitors from the United States and Britain only weeks after opening, officials said.

The George Washington House and Museum, completed in mid-January after an 8-year restoration project costing nearly $3.5 million, honors the first U.S. president and documents his time in the Caribbean.

The site in the Garrison Historic district, just outside Bridgetown, includes a yellow home in the Caribbean Georgian style with green shutters and louvered windows, stables, a bath house and a windmill.

Washington came to Barbados — the only foreign country he ever visited — at age 19 with his older half-brother Lawrence...During his two-month stay, Washington rode around the island on horseback, saw his first fireworks shows and play and met the governor and generals. He also contracted smallpox, making him immune to the disease when it later claimed lives during the American war for independence.
Read entire article at AP