Monticello

Lore & Background

Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 14. The name derives from Italian meaning 'little mountain.' Work began in 1768 on what historians call 'the first Monticello.' Jefferson moved into the South Pavilion in 1770, and his wife Martha joined him in 1772. After her death in 1782, Jefferson served as Minister to France, where he encountered classical and modern French architecture. In 1794, he began rebuilding his house based on those ideas, continuing through most of his presidency (1801–1809). The remodeling more than doubled the area, added a center hallway, a mezzanine bedroom floor, and an octagonal dome. The interior centers on two large rooms: an entrance-hall-museum and a music-sitting room. The dome room, rarely used due to temperature extremes, has been restored with 'Mars yellow' walls and a painted green and black checkered floor. Jefferson used forced labor of enslaved black people for extensive cultivation of tobacco and mixed crops, later shifting to wheat. Along Mulberry Row, outbuildings included a nailery, quarters for enslaved house workers, and gardens. Cabins for field slaves were farther from the mansion. Jefferson was buried on the grounds in an area now designated the Monticello Cemetery, owned by the Monticello Association of his descendants.

Reader's Guide

Monticello's significance lies in its dual role as the personal architectural expression of Thomas Jefferson and as a plantation worked by enslaved people. Jefferson designed the main house using neoclassical principles pioneered by Andrea Palladio, reworking the design through much of his presidency to include late 18th-century European elements and his own ideas. The property's preservation history is notable: after Jefferson's death, his daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph sold it for $7,500 in 1831. In 1834, Uriah P. Levy, a U.S. Navy commodore, bought it for $2,500 and spent significant funds to preserve it. His nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy took over in 1879 and also invested in restoration. In 1923, Monroe Levy sold it for $500,000 to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which operates it as a house museum and educational institution. The site's UNESCO designation in 1987, along with the University of Virginia, underscores its architectural and historic importance. The United States nickel has featured Monticello on its reverse since 1938, except 2004–05.

Did You Know?

• The United States nickel has featured Monticello on its reverse every year since 1938 except 2004–05.
• Uriah P. Levy, the first Jewish commodore in the U.S. Navy, bought Monticello in 1834 for $2,500.