Today I visited the residence of President Thomas Jefferson, known as Monticello. It's just south of Charlottesville, Virginia off state route 53. After I arrived at the visitor center and bought my ticket, I walked from there up to the estate itself. The first place I saw on the way was the Jefferson family cemetery. The obelisk-shaped stone stands above Jefferson's grave.
From the cemetery, I continued eastward to this wall, the main structure in a contemplative site to honor the people enslaved by Jefferson. The names of some slaves are carved into the wall, with more names to be added when the people are identified.
I resumed walking eastward toward the main house and passed this chimney from a joiner's shop.
Although Monticello is no longer a plantation, it still has a working garden, and this garden pavilion.
This next building was a storehouse for iron.
The walls surrounding this grave are the remains of a building that was first a laundry and then a residence. I don't know why anyone is buried there.
This building is a 2014 reconstruction of a slave cabin. Behind it is a stable.
I continued down to the stable, which comprises two buildings and a passageway between them, all sharing a common roof.
To learn more about Monticello, besides the links above, go to SmartHistory, Encyclopedia Virginia, UNESCO and Encyclopedia Britannica. So far, I've only shown you around the grounds, but have not shown the main house. Stay tuned.
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