From Camping to Glamping: Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

June 28, 2017
Charlottesville VA
Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Thomas Jefferson
Drafted the Declaration of Independence
Architect of the Virginia Capitol Building
Designer and Founder of the University of Virginia
Vice President to George Washington
Third President of the United States
Slave owner.

Thomas Jefferson began designing Monticello when he was 26 years old.Monticello now consists of about 5000 acres. It was 11000 acres at one time. Jefferson brought European innovations to his home and devised many more himself.

A view from the yard.

There were 4 cisterns to capture water, each could hold 3850 gallons of water.

Having indoor "necessaries" were a luxury. Jefferson had a total of five.

A privy pit.

This is one of the privies at the passageway to the cellars. There were three inside the main house, one each by the first and second floor stairways and one connected to Jefferson's bedroom.

Another luxury was this ice house designed by Jefferson.

Still another sign of his wealth was his horse drawn carriages.

They even had odometers.

One of the passageways to the cellars

Everyone needs a separate storage area for their wine, beer and ciders.

Why go to the wine cellar to get your bottle when you can ring for wine and have it delivered, by dumbwaiter, directly to you.

When having guests or I guess anytime you needed more wine, just ring. The trusted slave, Burwell Colbert, would choose the bottle and and, using the special dumbwaiter, deliver it to the dining room.

Here's information on some of the slaves of Monticello

Priscilla Hemmings

Burwell Colbert

Israel Gillette

Harriet Hemings

Betty Brown

I guess they took theft pretty seriously, since they had a separate key for each lock, or, maybe no two locks could be made that worked with one key.

The Kitchen

These were called stew stoves, used like our modern day kitchen range top. They were charcoal fired and, with the grate inserted, were used for heating pots. This was a European idea that Jefferson incorporated here. It made controlling the temperature easier.

Think of what you could cook up with an eight burner stove

Looking out from the back of the house.

Even though he owned slaves and they weren't always treated well, he did allow them to learn how to read and write. It doesn't sound like much, but it was unusual at the time.

We toured the main house, but no photos were allowed. There is a virtual tour on the website.

http://explorer.monticello.org/virtualtour/

We walked the grounds. I had never heard of this tree, so I looked it up. Chinese Cedar, or Chinese Mahogany... It is an ornamental flowering cedar.

A Cedar of Lebanon tree.

This robin nested under the porch roof and stayed home today.

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States (1801-1809), was born on a large Virginia estate run on slave labor. His marriage to the wealthy young widow Martha Wayles Skelton in 1772 more than doubled his property in land and slaves. In his public life, Jefferson made statements denouncing blacks as biologically inferior and claiming that a biracial American society was impossible. Despite these facts, there is much evidence to suggest–if not prove conclusively–that Jefferson had a longstanding relationship with a slave named Sally Hemings, and that the two had at least one and perhaps as many as six children together.
http://www.history.com/topics/sally-hemings

Whether this relationship was consensual is left for you to ponder

Along this ridge, called Mulberry Row, were the homes for the servants and slaves.

The stone stable

There are a number of articles at this website concerning slavery at Monticello. I have found so many contradictory accounts of how the people were treated and how Thomas Jefferson was against slavery, that I think I'll just post these pictures
https://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery

A typical slave family cabin.

The property was sold after Jefferson's death, including the slaves. Uriah Levy bequeathed the property to the US in 1862, but the government refused it. Later, his nephew gained title and sold the house and 662 acres to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation in 1923/

Monticello was a pretty self sufficient enterprise. On site were gardens, smokehouse, dairy, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, woodworkers, they even made their own charcoal for the fires.

Notice that he claims " which I carry on altogether with my own boys" These "boys' were not his acknowledged sons, but his slaves.

One of the statements, that I find difficult to wrap my head around, considering his claim that slavery was “moral depravity” and a “hideous blot,”
According to the Monticello website:
Throughout his entire life, Thomas Jefferson was a consistent opponent of slavery. Calling it a “moral depravity” and a “hideous blot,” he believed that slavery presented the greatest threat to the survival of the new American nation. Jefferson also thought that slavery was contrary to the laws of nature, which decreed that everyone had a right to personal liberty. These views were radical in a world where unfree labor was the norm.

BUT!