Monticello at last!

September 14, 2010

Monticello

 

We drove down to Charlottesville, Virginia yesterday to see Thomas Jefferson's primary home. It was a three hour drive one way but well worth it.  At least to me, but Pete had to do all the driving.  Monticello is on top of a mountain a few miles from Charlottesville.  It is surrounded by cherry trees which must be beautiful in the spring.  I think it would be beautiful any time of year.  It has been restored beautifully with a lot of the original furnishings and art work intact. Including the bed where he died in 1826.  On the 4th of July.  50 years after he drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence.  He was a brilliant man and put some very innovative ideas into his home.  Monticello and Poplar Forest have a lot of the same ideas in them, such as beds in alcoves to save space.  (I wouldn't want to try and make them, but I guess he didn't have to), double pane windows to keep out the cold and triple sashed windows that could be opened from the top, the bottom or the middle.  He even had a dumbwaiter along the sides of his fireplace where a bottle of wine could be brought up from the wine cellar on one side and the empty bottle sent down on the other.  Amazing!  There is ongoing archaeological excavation as they try to learn more about the area where the slaves lived.  Jefferson was a paradox in that he believed that all men are created equal, but he kept over 200 slaves.  And unlike Washington he did not free them when he died.  He only freed five slaves during his lifetime and four of them were most likely his offspring.  The rest of them were sold at the time of his death to pay off his debt.  Still a very fascinating man.  And a beautiful home.

We arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania today and will stay a couple of days.  We are staying in a quiet tree covered campground.  Tomorrow we will tour the battlefields from the Civil War....and maybe walk with the ghosts of the past.  Cheers!