Monticello

October 9, 2018

Today we visited Monticello, the plantation belonging to Thomas Jefferson.

We first visited the visitor center which lies at the bottom of the mountain. There was a short video presentation of Jefferson’s life and a museum. We thought this display was interesting, it was of the variety of things that Thomas Jefferson kept in his pockets. The tiny white cards were made of ivory and were small note cards that he could write notes on and then wipe clean after he transferred the information to paper. He was always taking notes and learning new things wherever he went. His pocketknife was rather sophisticated for that time period.

We then took a shuttle bus up the mountain to the mansion. There was no photography allowed inside the house. View from the front yard.

This is the back side of the house.

View off the back porch

Below the house were the cellars, carriage house, kitchen, storage and ice house.

We learned that the plantation actually had 4 different farms on it. All run by enslaved people. Pictured here is one of the slave quarters on Mulberry Row. (click to lean more). Those who worked in the big house lived there in slave quarters, some who were craftsmen such as, carpenters, joiners, blacksmiths and gardeners lived in small cabins on Mulberry Row near the house and others that worked the fields lived in cabins out in near the fields.

Mr. Jefferson was very interested in plants. He kept very detailed records of what he planted and the results.

This was the kitchen garden which was worked by the “senile corps” as he termed them. In Jefferson’s day, there would have been a tall wooden fence all around it. He had the planks made so tight that a rabbit would not even be able to squeeze through.

He inherited Monticello from his father. He later purchased the adjoining mountain, Montalto, seen here from the Monticello garden area.