Yesterday we visited Highland, home of James Monroe near Charlottesville.
From 1799 to 1824, this was Jame’s Monroe’s chief home, while he served America in numerous roles: governor of Virginia, Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and President of the United States.
Surprisingly we discovered Lafayette and Napoleon there!
LAFAYETTE
Monroe helped to rescue Lafayette’s wife from prison when she was facing the guillotine.
NAPOLEON
And in the drawing room there is a bust of Napoleon given to Monroe by none other than the emperor himself!
While standing in his study, the docent discoursed eloquently on his achievements.
OAK HILL IN LEESBURG
We also asked about his other home, Oak Hill, which is privately owned today.
She knew about that home so that was fun to chat, since I generally know where it’s located, just a peek through the trees from the highway.
My son’s dorm is named after Monroe’s Oak Hill…so we are especially into learning more about James Monroe now!
HISTORIC CLOTHING DISPLAYS
Especially interesting were the displays of either the actual clothing worn by members of the family or reproductions.
At the end of the tour, we were able to see many of them quite close-up, which was terrific to stand there to study the construction methods.
Since we weren’t allowed to take pictures, I took a lot of notes on paper, then I was delighted to discover a book all about their clothing in the gift shop.
Of course I bought the book, so now I want to recreate one of his wife’s Federal gowns!
After the tour we took a quick drive to Michie Tavern for lunch which is nearby, close to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home.
MONROE, JEFFERSON, MADISON AS NEIGHBORS
The coincidence of their neighboring homes was quite planned:
Such a community of neighboring homes of Jefferson, Monroe, Mazzei and Short in Albemarle, and James Madison’s Montpelier plantation to the north, had long been a desire of both Monroe and Jefferson. Among the many letters between them, for example, Jefferson wrote in 1788 that he much desired to see in Albemarle a “society forming there [of] yourself, Madison and Short” (August 9, 1788 Letter from Jefferson to Monroe). –An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings, Christopher Fennell
So, Monroe purchased 1000 acres from the Carter family, next to Monticello in 1793.
EPILOGUE 2016
Shortly after the news broke, I read that the home we toured is no longer thought to be Monroe’s house.
Apparently, archaeologists discovered the framework of a larger house, so now they saw the colonial portion we toured was Monroe’s guest house.
In the photos, the yellow house was known to be an older home, but the attached colonial white building was thought to be Monroe’s original home.
Out of curiousity, I did a little research on Monroe’s home.
MONROE’S DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS HIGHLAND HOME
In 1800 Monroe wrote for an insurance policy:
One wooden dwelling house, the walls filled with brick. One storey high, 40 by 30 ft. Wooden Wing one storey high, 34 by 18 ft. Appraised at twelve hundred dollars (Aug. 15, 1800 Declaration No. 386). –An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings, Christopher Fennell
Nine years later Monroe stated for his insurance policy:
My one dwelling, now occupied by myself, on my tract of land . . . Situated between the land of Wm. Short on the South, the land of Manoah Claxton [Clarkson] West, the land of Thomas Jefferson on the North and that of Micajah Carr on the East, in the County of Albemarle. Wooden dwelling house covered with wood. One storey high. The garrett finished, and part stone cellar, 40 by 30 ft. Wing of wood, and stone kitchen cellar, 34 by 16 ft. Appraisal, $2,500. There is a small wooden house 47 ft. from the house and no other within 70 ft. of this house (July 13, 1809 Policy No. 1238). –An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings, Christopher Fennell
Seven years later Monroe described:
Monroe would also substantially increase the size of his land holdings surrounding the Highland tract during this time period. For example, he purchased Kemp Catlett’s neighboring 775 1/2 acre farm in 1802 (Deed Book 14, page 191), a tract previously owned by Mazzei. While Jefferson’s plantation and William Short’s plantation remained constant boundaries on the north and south sides of the Highland, Monroe expanded by purchasing tracts adjoining the other sides of his property (Rawlings 1952: 35). –An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings, Christopher Fennell
PRESIDENTIAL DEBT BECAME PERSONAL DEBT
In 1814 Monroe wrote Jefferson:
The present appearing to be a favorite time for the sale of land in our state, I advertised my tract in Loudoun some months past, in the hope of profiting. . . . In this I have not yet succeeded. . . . It was intimated to me that I might obtain a very advantageous price for my tract in Albemarle. . . . It is my intention to sell one of these estates, and to apply the money arising from the sale, to the payment of my debts, and the improv[ement] of the other. . . . I shall try the market for both [and] dispose of that which can be sold to greatest advantage, intending however, not to sell that in Albemarle unless the price be such, as to indemnify me for the sacrifice I shall make in relinquishing a residence of 26 years standing, as mine in Albemarle has been, and near old friends to whom I am greatly attached (July 25, 1814 Letter from Monroe to Thomas Jefferson). –An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings, Christopher Fennell
Monroe was forced to sell Highland in 1825 to pay off such debts that had accumulated over the years. He owed the Bank of the United States approximately $75,000 by that time, and that Bank held a mortgage lien on 3,500 acres of Monroe’s land in Albemarle (Cunningham 1996: 181). He attempted to obtain reimbursement for much of these debts from the U.S. government, on the grounds that the expenditures were made in the course of his work for the government and on its behalf. Monroe and his family often resided overseas or in Washington, D.C., incurring debts related to those residences. In addition, he was forced to operate his plantations in Albemarle and Loudoun Counties as an “absentee” owner much of the time. This was often a detriment to the profitability of those farms (Gawalt 1993: 252-53). –An Account of James Monroe’s Land Holdings, Christopher Fennell
