Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's Home

There is something very special about visiting a place that is historically significant. It's a trip back in time.

Thomas Jefferson loved this home better than any place on earth and if you ever go it will be apparent why that was true.

He called Monticello his "essay in architecture". Monticello is Italian for LIttle Mountain and it's pronounced Monti-chell-o. He lived there for more than fifty-six years. He worked for more than forty years in designing, altering it, adding to it. It's a National Historic Landmark.

We visited Monticello one fall day and were most impressed.

The views are breathtaking. The grounds have been impeccably maintained and you can just feel the pride that Thomas Jefferson must have experienced every time he returned.

I would visit again in a heartbeat.

All of the photographs on this page were taken by me.

The Third President of the United States of America

Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia on April 13, 1743. He married Martha Wayles Skelton (born in Virginia in 1748) in Charles City, Virginia on January 1, 1772. They had six children but two daughters and a son died in infancy.

Jefferson died at home in Monticello on July 4, 1826.

Jefferson was called the "Sage of Monticello" and the "Man of the People". He was well educated at William and Mary College and was a lawyer and planter.

Thomas Jefferson had many talents and skills. Some of them I have listed here.

• He was an inventor. Some of his inventions included an obelisk clock, a dumbwaiter, a polygraph machine to make copies of his letters, window blinds similar to venetian blinds so he could control the light in his greenhouse windows and a form of a telescope.
• Thomas Jefferson was a delegate to the Continental Congress as well as the Governor of Virginia. He was George Washington's Secretary of State and the Vice President during John Adam's presidency. And, of course, he was the third president of the United States of America.
• While serving in the 2nd Continental Congress in Philadelphia, John Adams asked him to write the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was not a great orator but he was a gifted writer.
• Thomas Jefferson wrote more than 20,000 letters and his library contained approximately 7,000 books in seven languages. He could speak Latin and Greek.

Thomas Jefferson wore many hats including that of scientist, inventor and botanist. He planned and had planted a vegetable garden, a fruit garden and ornamental gardens. There were also two orchards and a vineyard.

The vegetable garden is a 1,000 foot section on the property. It's divided into 20 squares or growing plots which were used to grow the vegetables as a source of food as well as an experimental laboratory. It was called Mulberry Row because Jefferson planted Mulberry trees all along that section.

There's an ornamental bean plant that has the most beautiful orchid-like blossoms and an okra plant that has flowers resembling poppies. There are more varieties than I could possibly mention.

Jefferson designed twenty oval flower beds which he placed at the corners of the house. Each was planted with a different species of flower. Some of them were rare at the time and many had been growing in the gardens of Europe for centuries and were introduced to America... Roses, Sweet William and Poppies just to name a few. Some of the flowers in the gardens, today, are very old species that disappeared after Jefferson's death. There has been a great effort to restore them.

Visitors are not allowed to take photographs inside the mansion because the furnishings and artwork are fragile with age.

That's why I encourage you to watch this slide show from YouTube. It's a mini-tour of the interior which is quite beautiful. There are wonderful shots of the landscape including a few aerial views, as well. It's a perfect compliment to my photographs. You'll enjoy it.