Thomas Jefferson (3rd President)
Charlottesville
Home: Monticello
High on a mountaintop, along the Southwest Mountain range, Jefferson’s masterpiece continues to delight and intrigue visitors almost 250 years after it first began construction.
Here man and mansion closely merged as Jefferson’s interests in nature, history and philosophical matters.
If time or money is an issue at least make plans for a quick stop by the Monticello Visitors Center, located on Route 20 off Interstate 64. Both the exhibits and the movie, Thomas Jefferson: The Pursuit of Liberty, are free of charge.
Drive up the mountain to the mansion and a host of tours exist. From seeing the house, the gardens, Mulberry Row (the slave portion) or visiting Montalto (a neighboring plateau) anyone can gain insight into Jefferson and his world.
James Madison (4th President)
Montpelier Station
Home: Montpelier
Close friend to Jefferson and creator of the Constitution, Madison’s home is in the midst of rediscovery or a “detective story” as the website calls it. Learn about the James and his delightful wife Dolley, in their former home, which opens out to an old growth virgin forest in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Open seasonally, Gilmore Cabin offers a look into the lives of area’s freed slaves. Also seasonal is the restoration tent where one can learn how to make a brick or saw a log while playing period games.
The Center for the Constitution continues the belief that the US Constitution was created for an intelligent people, and is an ongoing educational process.
James Monroe (5th President)
Charlottesville
Home: Ash Lawn-Highland
Come to a simpler time. Unlike the more grandiose home designs on his presidential predecessors, Monroe’s home reflects a period when hospitality was paramount. Smaller in scope than both Monticello and Montpelier it is an intimate plantation where a white oak, standing during Monroe’s time, still dominates the fragrant boxwood gardens.
Inside the furnishings reflect highlights of Monroe’s presidency from a drop-leaf table of Honduran Mahogany, sent by the people of what is now Honduras. Remember the Monroe Doctrine’s foreign policy forbade European intervention on the Western Hemisphere.
Flamboyant peacocks roam the grounds, and a wide array of events invite visitors to return again and again. Near the holidays you might consider cutting down your own tree from the plantation or during the summer make plans to attend the renowned Opera Festival.
While the three houses are within an easy drive of each other, it is advisable that a minimum of two days be given to explore all of their charms.
For more information:
Monticello: www.monticello.org/
Montpelier: www.montpelier.org/
Ash Lawn-Highland:www.ashlawnhighland.org/
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