After a great stay in Virginia with family, I am down the road in Charlottesville, Va., which is about 120 miles southwest of Washington. This is the location of the home of Thomas Jefferson. It was named by Jefferson "Monticello" & if you look on the back of a nickle you will find a likeness of this house.
It is an impressive structure that is on top of a small hill in the wooded Virginia countryside. I took a tour of the inside but no pictures were allowed. But I have pictures of the exterior to share with you.
Does this look like the back of that nickle? I thought so! It has some 20 rooms that include a library, greenhouse, wine dumb waiters from the basement, skylights, some dual pane windows & all sorts of artifacts gathered over his lifetime. The short history lesson on Jefferson, he was: Governor of Virginia; Minister to France; Secretary of State; Vice President & President (1801- 1809). A very busy man who was also running a large estate with about 200 servants / slaves.
This one of the rebuilt structures that housed some of the trades shops. I like the joints at the ends of the wall beams - I know it is a carpenter`s thing.....
The house in the background, this is a fine example of the fall colors.
Jefferson kept a large garden (above) to help feed his family & staff. Right now the gardens are mostly cleared for the winter. He did have a lemon tree in his greenhouse (which is attached to the house on the south side) that is loaded with nice fruit. Below is the entrance to the greenhouse off this walkway at this end of the house.
On each side of the house are these long "L" shaped walkways with storage underneath. The formal entrance is on the right but the image everyone knows is west (left) side.
Jefferson is buried just down from the house & he died on July 4, 1826 which was 50 years to the day from the signing of the Declaration of Independence which he authored. He lived from 1743 to 1826 to the age of 83 which in those days was not the rule.
This is a list of all the Jefferson family who are buried in the cemetery on the grounds. (Remember if you right click the image to enlarge, it might be more readable) I know it would be for me!
I have stopped for the night in Lexington, Va. & am headed for the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow - unless something else comes up to see, you never know. Enough for now.
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