After Linda and I left Ashville in North Carolina, we headed up to Charlottesville in Virginia. Charlottesville is home to the University of Virginia which was founded by Thomas Jefferson. It is also where the nation's third president lived, at the home he built, Monticello. Monticello, which means "little mount," was a large plantation house built on top of a large hill overlooking Jefferson's beloved university.
As we drove up the drive to the house site, we saw orchards and grape vines growing on the rolling hillsides. Growing up in Louisiana, my impression of a large plantation was one of vast fields stretching to the horizon with cotton growing as far as the eye could see. This is not at all how Monticello strikes you as you draw near. Rather, it is mountainous terrain with mostly trees in sight. Any farming done would have been on smaller fields scattered throughout the forest.
The house itself sits on the very top of the hill with a commanding view all round. Since we were there in February, we had an unobstructed view of the surrounding countryside. It was pretty impressive. The house is impressive as well. Although, after having been at the largest house in America just prior to coming here, it seemed somewhat smaller than I had anticipated.
There were a number of tourists on our bus, so we were a crowd going through the various rooms together. When you walk into the house through the front door, you are struck by the artifacts that adorn the walls or hang over the balcony above. Most of these items were collected on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. There are stuffed animals and Native American art and weapons. This entry was the place travelers waited until Jefferson could see them. It seems Monticello was a popular stop over for folks travelling through the area. And because Jefferson lived here after he left the presidency, it was also a prestigious place to stay.
I must say my attraction was not to Monticello itself as much as it was to the man, Thomas Jefferson. I think I admire Jefferson more than any other founding father. And because the great man lived here, I was drawn to visit. In fact, it has long been an item on my bucket list.
As our tour guide showed us the different rooms of the house and the role they played in Jefferson's daily life, I found it interesting that someone of Jefferson's obviously superior intellect actually lived in these rooms and read these books. Over the course of his life, Jefferson collected over 6,500 books and it is thought he actually read all of them.
Jefferson also took an active interest in his plantation and the life of his slaves. While he seemed to have a real aversion to slavery, he did own about 140 slaves. They worked six days a week from sunup to sundown. Most of them had Sundays off. Jefferson was ahead of his time in regard to his treatment of the slaves on his plantation, but he did not see a good way for the nation, or himself either, to find a way out of the ugly practice.
Jefferson was interested in botany and grew a variety of fruits, vegetables and other plants on his plantation. The gardens sit on a large terrace below one side of the house. They are still maintained and are planted with some of the same varieties that were popular in Jefferson's day. Above the garden are several examples of slave quarters which were one-room structures with a very basic layout.
Below the garden and to the back of the house is a fairly large cemetery where Jefferson and other of his relation are buried. This cemetery is still privately owned by Jefferson's descendants. When Jefferson was a young man, he and his best friend agreed to bury whichever of the two died first on this hill. Jefferson's friend died at an early age and became the first person ever buried on what became the family burial site. This was before Jefferson built Monticello. Jefferson inherited several thousand acres of land at Monticello and later added a couple of thousand more. He began building the house when was 26 years old.
One of the unique things about Monticello is the fact that it was built on top of a large hill. This ran contrary to popular practice for that period because it was very difficult to get water since there were no electric pumps in the 1700s. Most people relied on gravity flow or built close to a source of water. Ice was cut from the nearby river in winter and stored in a special building. Rain water for drinking and bathing was caught and collected in a large cistern. There is a neat little pool in the backyard where fish that were caught in the river were kept until needed.
After the guided tour, we were left to wander the grounds on our own. Linda and I strolled down to the garden to watch the young folks at work. The garden was laid out in neat rows and they were adding aged manure to the soil. A young lady was using a pitchfork to mix the manure into the soil. Everywhere we looked, the view was outstanding. It was simply invigorating to stand on a high hill on a winter day and breathe the fresh, clean air.
After checking out most everything we could find to see, Linda and I made our way back down the mountain to the museum below. There was a nice restaurant there as well, so we picked up a couple of sandwiches and a bottle of water and relaxed while we refreshed ourselves. We were both glad that we had come to Monticello, and I left determined to learn more about the man who had the vision to build such an interesting house and plantation.
Thomas Jefferson wrote some of the most important documents in Virginia and United States history, including the Declaration of Independence. The debt we owe this man cannot be measured. While there may be many who disagree, I maintain Jefferson is a dead white man who still matters. I believe he always will.
Sam Byrnes is a Gentry-area resident and weekly contributor to the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 03/22/2017