The tour cost $24 per person but was well worth it. You leave your car at the visitor center and take a shuttle up to the house. It was a misty, on-again, off-again rainy day. While waiting under a tree for the tour to start, Chuck read through the tour guidebook provided.
Before going to the house, the tour group waits across from this huge beautiful tree. Can you imagine what the tree looked like when Thomas Jefferson was here? If it was here at all, it probably just a sprout.
Besides being one of America's founding fathers, the author of the Declaration of Independence, the third president of the United States, and procurer of the largest land holding for the United States, the Louisiana Territory, Thomas Jefferson was also a architect, philosopher, scientist, gardener, plantation owner, inventor, diplomat, and spoke five languages.
The tour of Monticello begins by going through the East Front. Monticello has two fronts, the East Front and the West Front, and no backs.
Since no picture-taking was allowed in the house, I will try to describe what to me were some of the most interesting items on the tour.
Efficiency in all things was apparently very important to Thomas Jefferson. Throughout the tour, we saw some of his inventions to increase effiency like the Great Clock in the Entrance Hall that is a still-functioning seven day clock that is wound every Sunday and the wine bottle dumbwaiter hidden within the trim of a fireplace mantle that extended from the dining room on the first floor down to the wine cellar in the basement. The bookshelves in the library were actually portable book boxes whereby they could easily and efficiently transport books from one place to another.
The Cabinet room evidenced Mr. Jefferson's desire for efficiency in his work with his bookstand on a turntable upon which he could have 3 or 4 books open at one time. He could quickly turn the bookstand around to the different open books much like we use multi-screens on our computers today. He also had one of the first copiers called a polygraph which was a device with pens attached to it whereby when he wrote with one pen on one side, another pen on the other side of the polygraph would print the same thing as he was writing.
The trimwork throughout the house was intricate and amazing considering it was built nearly two hundred years ago today. They could not just run down to the local Lowes or Home Depot to pick up a few feet of 3 1/2" crown moulding. Another interesting feature and evidence of Mr. Jefferson's desire for space efficiency was that all of the beds were placed in constructed alcoves rather than using beds that took up space in the rooms.
When the inside tour was complete, we were free to roam the grounds and basement. Here is a picture of the West Front, which is the traditional picture of Monticello:
They had a fishing pond by the gardens where they would keep fish until they were ready to fix them for supper (kind of like a live well on a boat).
We walked through the terraced gardens where they grew many different vegetables and fruits. Thomas Jefferson loved vegetables.
One of the biggest problems they had was lack of water. The house is located on top of a hill and had no well. They had to use cisterns everywhere to try to capture rainwater.
One of my favorite buildings was the garden pavillion constructed in the middle of the garden. The building was closed in on three sides with big windows and gorgeous views.
Can't you imagine Thomas Jefferson escaping to this covered little room to read one of his books?
When we arrived back at the visitor center, there was a life-size statue of Thomas Jefferson. I think he was a little taller than Chuck.
Interestingly enough, Mr. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Overall, the tour was very interesting and very informative. I would highly recommend that if you are ever in the Charlottesville area, take a day and go exploring Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.
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