More on the South Colonial Williamsburg
Two presidents called Virginia's hills home
By Rhoda Amon, Newsday, 2/13/2002
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More on the South Colonial Williamsburg
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Tucked into these quiet hills, 25 miles apart, are the well-preserved homes of two of our earliest presidents: Thomas Jefferson, who gave us the Declaration of Independence, and James Madison, called the "Father of the Constitution."
Take along a child or grandchild or two, and think how much history they'll absorb in a few short days.
Our first stop is Charlottesville, where Jefferson built his mountaintop home, Monticello. "All my wishes end where I hope my days will end, at Monticello," he wrote. And it's not hard to understand why he felt that way.
Monticello is full of reminders of what a versatile man he was. Jefferson designed his home himself, with huge windows, almost floor to ceiling, bathing the rooms in light in an age when most houses were dark with small windows. And being a tall man, 6 feet 3 inches, he built it with 18-foot ceilings. The house is full of gadgets he invented or improved, including dumbwaiters.
On a recent visit, we were led through the house by a guide, Charles Gay, who then turned us loose with a map of the grounds. Though the gardens, once called the most beautiful in North America, will not be at their best this time of year, there is still much to see year-round.
There is Mulberry Row, Jefferson's private industrial park, where he had his own joinery, blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, smokehouse, and saw pit, plus dwellings for his workers.
Before leaving the grounds, pay a visit to the grave sites of the Levy family. The family saved Monticello, mostly through the efforts of Commodore Uriah P. Levy and his nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy, two men who believed that the homes of great leaders should be preserved for future generations.
Commodore Levy, a Jewish naval officer who admired Jefferson for his religious tolerance, acquired the overgrown, dilapidated estate in 1834, eight years after Jefferson died, $100,000 in debt.
The Confederate government seized the property during the Civil War and sold it to another owner, who turned it into a working farm, with pigs rooting in the flower beds and cattle stabled inside the house. It took Jefferson Monroe Levy 19 years of litigation to reacquire the land and restore it as a family home, which it remained until 1923.
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, steward of the estate for 77 years, now manages 500,000 visitors a year.
For information: 434-984-9822 and www.monticello.org.
You'll need another day for visiting Montpelier, the 18th-century home of the fourth president, James Madison. It's Madison's 250th birthday, and it's a good year to visit Montpelier.
As was often the case with the widows of famous men, Dolley Madison was left with no money when James Madison died in 1836. She sold the property, and the furniture was auctioned. But many of the original furnishings are back after years of research and acquisition, says Randy Huwa, a Montpelier Foundation spokesman.
Visitors are ushered into the Madisons' dining room, which tries to re-create, down to the small details, the way it looked on Nov. 17, 1824, when James and Dolley entertained the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution.
Madison, who was president during the War of 1812, retired to Montpelier in 1817, after two presidential terms.
For information: 540-672-2728 and www.montpelier.org.