|
Who Am I? | Site Map | Music | FAQ | Contact Me |
 Magnificent Monticello
My other major stop that day was at Monticello, the former home of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. I had read a fair bit about Jefferson over the years and visited his beloved nearby town of Charlottesville once, but I had never been to Monticello. How could Jefferson afford to build this elaborate mansion on a hilltop? He made his money the old-fashioned way: he inherited it from his dad.
I pulled into the Monticello (pronounced "monta-chello") parking lot late in the afternoon and paid my entrance fee in the well-organized admissions building, then I hopped on a shuttle bus, which took me up to the hilltop. After our small group disembarked, a guide here give us a 20-minute tour inside Monticello. The only thing disappointing about the mansion was that I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the interior, so I can't show you what it looks like inside, but it's filled with all sorts of Jeffersonian inventions and innovations. After the tour, we were free to wander around the grounds for as long as we liked. I could've even taken another house tour, which I thought about doing. Monticello is a fascinating place, and after walking through it, I felt for the first time like I understood Jefferson.
After the tour, I popped into the gift shop, which wasn't nearly as tacky as I'd feared. My dad is a big fan of Thomas Jefferson, so I wandered around the shop for 20 minutes debating whether to get him the Thomas Jefferson golf balls, a Lewis and Clark t-shirt, or a Jefferson refrigerator magnet. I figured that you can lose golf balls – or at least, I can – so I got a magnet for my dad and the t-shirt for myself. Interestingly, I didn't see anything in the gift shop with the name of Jefferson's slave/mistress, Sally Hemings, on it. I guess folks don't like to talk about that sort of thing.
Thomas Jefferson wasn't a perfect person: he was a slaveholder and an extravagant spender who was unable to manage his finances. But he also had an unbounded curiosity about the world and an array of eclectic interests. Those admirable traits have always intrigued me, perhaps because I (humbly) think of myself as being somewhat the same way. Along with serving as President, Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence at the ripe old age of 33, and later he founded the University of Virginia. He often observed the construction of the university, in nearby Charlottesville, with a telescope set up on his porch at Monticello.
In one of the most amazing coincidences of American history, two of America's founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both died on the same day. Not only that, but it was on a July 4. And not only that, but it was on July 4 in 1826, exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. These two men not only were close friends but were also the ones most responsible for the creation of the Declaration of Independence: Adams had the concept and Jefferson put it into writing. John Adams, in Massachusetts, died in the late afternoon of that day in 1826 and his last words were, "Thomas Jefferson survives," not realizing that Jefferson, in Virginia, had passed away a few hours earlier.
Even though I had heard wonderful things about Monticello and had high expectations, I was still very impressed. Thomas Jefferson was an amazing fellow and I heartily recommend seeing Monticello to anyone visiting Virginia.
Above left: Here's our tour group about to go inside Monticello. Jefferson was a planter – first tobacco, then wheat and other crops – and started building Monticello in 1768. He finished it about 40 years later. I suppose that's usually what happens when you build your own house. Above right: Monticello's "modest" back yard. I wonder if Jefferson used Scott's Turf Builder?
Above left: A passageway under Monticello where Jefferson's slaves lived, including his favorite, Sally Hemings. Above center: Jefferson planted numerous crops and grew extensive gardens on the grounds, which are still maintained. Above right: Thomas Jefferson's grave.
|
