To begin, WOW, Overwhelmed, Information Overload! If you are into American history, this is one of the must see places on your list. I wasn’t sure at 7:30 this morning when it was raining, but I already reserved my spot in the 11am Behind the Scenes Tour. I arrived at 8:45, they opened at 8:30, so I was early. The rain was just a drizzle when I arrived. If you want to see inside the house, you must sign up for a tour. The basic tour is just the first floor, but when will you be back, go big, enjoy the vacation, take the full house tour, ‘Behind the Scenes. Well got lucky, rain pretty much stopped, so was able to walk around even though it was overcast. Jefferson inherited the several thousand acres of land from his father at the age of 21. In 1768 they started to clear the hilltop and built what would be considered Monticello 1. Later Jefferson would tear down halve of the house and expand it, this would be considered Monticello 2. Think about this Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence at the age of 33. The tour was very informative, talked about the history of the house and Jefferson including his relationship with the enslaved women Sally Hemings and the 6 children she had. Jefferson’s wife passed away when she was 33 after complications from child birth, she made Jefferson promise to never re-marry.
The name Monticello is Italian for ‘Little Mountain’. Jefferson was influenced by European Architecture from his trips to Europe. In fact it took 40 years to complete Monticello, Jefferson designed everything and there were 3 stages, the dome was added in stage 2. Jefferson believed knowledge was power, education would be key in our democracy. He was very much interested in all the latest technologies of the day. He wanted Monticello to be self sustaining. The large gardens for food, wood working shop, metal shop. They made the nails on site. He was always had measuring tools, a clock, notepad with him so he could record anything he might see.
The building itself is about 99% original, the only thing that is not are the glass in the windows and repairs to roof. The floors are covered with a veneer only to protect the original wood. Some main doors have been stored away and replaced with replicas just to protect them. The building has 3 stories, but the appearance it looks like 2. Jefferson thought stairs were useless, so they are steep and narrow. The great dome octagon room on the 3rd floor, really served no purpose other than a kids playroom or a multi-person bedroom, he just liked to looks of it from the outside. The stairs to get to the third floor were so narrow and steep it would be impossible to get any large furniture up to the third floor.
