Thomas Jefferson is my favorite Founding Father. Is that weird that I have a favorite Founding Father? But what’s not to like? He’s a traveler, a writer, a lawyer, a statesman, a politician, a gadget man, an architect, a gardener, an education advocate, a reader…the list literally goes on and on. Plus he’s the 1, 2, 3 man: 1st Secretary of State, 2nd Vice President, and 3rd President. I’m so fascinated by Jefferson that I believe I chose to write a paper on him back in college! It’s little surprise that I allotted a day of my vacation to visit his home: Monticello.
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| The backyard. Officially referred to as the West Lawn. |
Truth be told, I’ve wanted to visit Monticello for nearly 12 years! When I was in high school I came to Washington, DC on my senior trip and I absolutely loved the Jefferson Memorial – it’s still my favorite. On that trip we, sadly, only had time to visit Mount Vernon and I wondered if I would ever get the chance to see Monticello.
Dreams do come true kids…
Visiting Monticello
I spent about 5 hours a Monticello! With your admission you get a guided tour of the house, a garden tour, a slavery tour, a self-guided tour of the dependencies, entry to 3 exhibit spaces, a short film, and full access to the grounds. If you know me, and especially if you have ever traveled with me, it is no surprise that I did everything on that list!
In typical fashion, I arrived early. I had spent the night camping nearby in Charlottesville and I didn’t want to be late! I took the bus from the Visitor’s Center to Monticello at the top of the hill. I had about 20 minutes to wander the grounds before lining up for my tour. I couldn’t believe I was really here – I finally got to see Monticello!
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| The front yard. I guess this would be the East Lawn. |
Monticello: The House That Jefferson Built
I learned so much in my day there.
I love how much Jefferson loved gadgets. He had a clock in his front room that he also rigged to be a clock on his front porch. Since it was a clock that only needed to be wound every 7 days, Jefferson realized he could use it to tell the day of the week as well. He developed a weight / counterweight system using cannonballs on a rope, attached it to the clock mechanism and had a clock and calendar in one.
Jefferson wrote many letters and kept meticulous records. To ensure that he always had a copy of his correspondence, he employed a polygraph machine. I always thought polygraph was a lie detector, but in this case it was tandem pens – what you wrote with one was immediately copied by the other.
Another part of his meticulous record keeping was his weather monitoring. Jefferson recorded the weather when he woke up and in the late afternoon – hoping to determine weather patterns.
Monticello’s Plants
Perhaps Jefferson was so interested in the weather because of the effects it could have on his plants. Monticello has a garden, orchard, and vineyard. These did not always produce enough food to feed Jefferson’s family, but it did give him space to try science experiments such as hybridization. He also tried introducing European plants such as a particular variety of grapes whose wine he enjoyed.
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| The Vineyard and Garden Pavilion (think of it as a hot gazebo) |
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| The nursery where Jefferson tried experiments and non-native plants |
Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on their expedition out west. In return, they sent him back plants they discovered. Today the Monticello flower garden is maintained in much the same way Jefferson would have kept it. In fact many of the plants come from seeds of plants Jefferson, himself, grew. These plants are marked in the garden with a “TJ” on the stake. Plants sent back by Lewis and Clark are marked with an “LC.” It was fascinating to wander the grounds and realize how much history you were walking through. Jefferson was clearly an adept gardener. I was very surprised when my garden tour guide pointed out the poison ivy and said that Jefferson used it as ground cover. I guess you can’t be right about everything Tom.
Monticello’s View
Monticello (“little mountain” in Italian) sits atop a hill owned by Thomas Jefferson’s father. On land of his childhood estate, Jefferson decided to make his home here. To the south he had what he called his “sea view.” As one who is very familiar with sea views, I can understand why he called it that.
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| Can you see the rolling waves? |
To the north Jefferson could observe the construction of the University of Virginia through his telescope. When he observed something going wrong, he would hop on his horse, ride to Charlottesville, and fix it.
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| UVA is through the small gap in the trees |
Like UVA, Jefferson designed Monticello himself. The design went through several changes as Jefferson continued to travel and revise his plans based on new sights and experiences. It’s safe to say, I should probably never design a house.
Visiting Monticello
To learn more about Monticello visit www.monticello.org
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| Monticello as reflected in the Fish Pond |
