On a sultry hot summer day, we escaped to Charlottesville for some Jeffersonian inspired visits.
Arriving for lunch at the deli at the visitor center, I relished the lovely surroundings on the deli’s deck that was wonderfully shaded by the many trees, bringing much coolness to the atmosphere.
Before ascending the mountain, we ambled through the courtyard where this amazing relief of the area topography laid out the setting for our day.
While this video recreates the route upon the property Thomas Jefferson took when he rode on horseback to check the quarter farms, my favorite part is seeing the profile of the landscape.
Easily seen is Monticello’s 868′ compared to the neighboring Montalto’s 1278′, which Jefferson purchased from Edward Carter, born at Shirley Plantation, and grandson of Robert ‘King’ Carter.
SHADWELL
Jefferson was born at Shadwell, named for the place in England where his mother, Jane Randolph, was born in 1720.
Soon afterwards, her family came to Virginia, settling in Williamsburg, where her sister was born.
Marrying Peter Jefferson in 1739, they had ten children, of whom Thomas was the oldest son, born in 1743.
Since he especially loved one of the mountains on his father’s property, Thomas Jefferson chose that location for his own home, Monticello.
Inheriting his father’s estate of 3000 acres, he later purchased another 2000 acres.
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
Of great interest to me, was the map of Jefferson’s Quarter Farms of Shadwell, Lego, Tufton, and Monticello, through which ran the Rivanna River.
Named for Queen Anne, the Rivanna rose about four miles north of Charlottesville, emptying into the James River.
Dredged by Jefferson in his youth to enable shipment of goods to and from Richmond, the Rivanna River flooded frequently.
In 1733, Jefferson had a 4000′ canal built at the Shadwell Farm, to create a protected and controlled water supply along the river for his two gristmills, which took thirty years to build.
TUFTON FARM
Of the land inherited from his father is Tufton Farm, which today carries the legacy of Jefferson’s fascination with experimenting with seeds and plants in his gardens through the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, which I toured a few years ago.
LEGO FARM
Thomas Jefferson purchased a section of land abutting Monticello, which he named Lego….obviously not after the popular children’s building toys, despite his love of putting up and pulling down his own architecture.
Although its speculated that he named the land Lego (Latin=I read) because he liked to read his beloved books under the trees on that portion of land, Latin scholars insist that would go against Jefferson’s genius wordsmithing skills, arguing he’d never use a verb form to describe a location.
Thus, another possibility comes from his interest in reading Ossian, poetry of an epic narrator who tells epic tales of the lake of Lego and Scottish heroes, from which Jefferson apparently obtained names for his horses.
RENAISSANCE MAN
Some of my favorites of the mansion tour include the compass…
The piano forte and violin, which represent the music Thomas Jefferson and his wife, Martha, played together.
I love these window treatments in the Parlor!
What a grand view of the terrace, gardens, and Blue Ridge Mountains from the Parlor!
At the end of the terrace can be seen the Spherical Sundial…
Although popular in Europe, it’s thought that this spherical sundial is the first of its kind to be used in America.
If the sundial is correct, it should read that it was 1:21pm…the day of Independence Day, as noted by the bunting displayed across the Monticello manor house.
