Back in Time to Jefferson's Monticello

Today was an enjoyable, historic day as we visited the mountain top sprawling Mitchie Tavern and nearby Monticello.  We are only 18 miles from Monticello, so it was a short drive into Charlottesville and then up the mountain to Mitchie Tavern, which first opened in 1784.  You wind up the mountain beyond here to reach Jefferson's Monticello.

Mitchie Tavern

Mitchie General Store and Water Wheel

Mitchie Pottery Building

Less than a mile up the hill from Mitchie Tavern is the entrance to Monticello (which means little mountain).  We arrived there around 1330 and looked around the visitor center before our 1430 behind the scenes tour.  They now offer several different types of tours, a change from our last visit.

 

Monticello area with house in middle and extensive gardens on left

We were part of a small group of about a dozen, with a very experienced guide who had worked there about eighteen years. He not only knew his history, but added humorous anecdotes that brought the family to life.  It has been twenty years since our last visit, and they have expanded the out-buildings, added a typical cabin for field workers and more (outbuildings, exhibits, expanded gardens, etc) as well as being able to visit the second and third floors of the historic house.

The garden or southwest side of Monticello

The image on the nickel and what most of us think of is really the back side of the house, with entry to the expansive gardens, both ornamental and vegetable. Today, Jefferson is considered somewhat of an obsessive compulsive personality. He recorded weather observations twice a day for 40 years, created a wooden machine to copy every letter he wrote, so he could keep a copy, knew five languages, read books in French, Latin and English at the same time, a proficient violin player, first paleontologist with a large North American mastodon named for him (and the jaw of it is in the front hall), invented the cipher wheel used by the military for 150 years, invented many time saving devices shown in the home such as a seven-day self-winding clock, bicycle chain double-door opening, and two types of dumb waiter--one for food and one for wine.

Pamela with a favorite quote of Jefferson"s

One of our favorite historical points is that when the British burned much of Washington, DC in 1812, he donated his 6,500 library of books, that become the start of the Library of Congress. He then went on to collect another library of over 2,000 books, at a time when books cost more than a bottle of wine, a night in a tavern or a month of tradesman wage. Man after Pamela's heart! 

About 25% of the "kitchen" garden on side of house

Jefferson was a scientist, who loved nature, experimenting in the garden and created a 1,000 foot-long garden made from soil taken from top of mountain to flatten it for the house. Of the over 300 fruits, vegetables and herbs in his garden and orchard, many were new to America such as tomatoes, artichokes, rutabagas, broccoli and kale. The garden was divided into three sections based on what part of plant was harvested:  fruits such as tomatoes, roots like beets and leaves such as lettuce. He kept meticulous records on what grew well and did not, importing seeds and plants from all over the world, including this unusual flower below.

Late summer blooming Cockscomb in garden

Our tour took us up narrow, winding, nine-inch tall steps to the second floor, where the rest of the family slept, only Jefferson slept on the first floor of the 11,000 square foot home. After his wife died, he asked daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph to come live and serve as mistress of the house. She came with husband and children. She home schooled her children, with help from dad, managed all the house servants and served as hostess for all guests.

Martha's bedroom on second floor

Dad however was very controlling and she complained about her "alcove" bed to Jefferson in actual letters (while he was President) for over a year, before he bought her this bed. In case you are wondering, her husband has some mental issues and slept on the third floor. But, they did have eleven children, over half while living here. She also complained about steep and narrow stairs, so when pregnant, she slept on first floor. We agree about how narrow and tight the stairs are. In fact, so narrow, that some large pieces of furniture had to be put together on the second and third floors. 

Us in the Dome Room

A real highlight of the two-hour tour was time in the Dome, the only place we were allowed to take photos. He designed the house based on the Greco-Roman architecture he really loved, while he served in France as Minister, first under Benjamin Franklin and then as lead ambassador. He was the architect for this home and incorporated several inventions, such as window skylights that opened with counter-weights, and the dome skylights, two of which have mirror surfaces on the bottom half, cause those two windows looked into bedrooms in the house. 

Grand-children's hidden play room off dome

The surprise was when our guide opened the doors in the dome to show us the play room that overlooked the south lawn and gardens. The grand kids held tea parties here and we could see the original hard pine beams of the house, all hand tooled before put in place. One of the big changes in the tour since we have been here, is the knowledge shared about the enslaved people who worked the plantation (close to 150) and the truth of the six children that Jefferson fathered with Sally Hemmings, who was his wife's half sister. There is a separate exhibit on Sally Hemmings and her children, who were freed when they became twenty-one and went on to have families, establish churches, and build successful businesses as blacksmiths and joiners (furniture carpenters).

Round Windows from Dome Room

The tour was a full two and a half hours in length, with time for questions and discussions.  It was great to have an experienced tour guide, and to see parts of the house that were closed off to tourists only three years ago.  After the tour, we returned to the the visitor center and watched a short movie and then--where else?--the extensive gift shop.  Pamela found several lovely gifts and a few things she could not live without.

Neil with His Pal, Tommy, who was 6' 2" tall

After leaving Monticello, we stopped at another Wegmans huge Grocery Store and found a two unique to Virginia wines. We did not buy the first, but nuts of the second brand, which seemed safe!

Tomorrow, we have a short drive down to Blacksburg, VA where we will stay with friends Andy and Connie for the weekend.  We are looking forward to catching up and sharing some of our collected food and wine on the trip. Next blog entry will likely be Monday when we arrive in Ashville, North Carolina.

Neil and Pamela