For 24 years, Monticello’s Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery has been studying and cataloging artifacts left behind by early and enslaved Americans, creating an online archive that enables intersite, comparative archaeological research on slavery. Now, thanks to $354,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation and The Conservation Fund, the DAACS and its collaborative […]
For 24 years, Monticello’s Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery has been studying and cataloging artifacts left behind by early and enslaved Americans, creating an online archive that enables intersite, comparative archaeological research on slavery. Now, thanks to $354,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation and The Conservation Fund, the DAACS and its collaborative […]
Straight out of the gate, I must acknowledge this wasn’t a fair test. Almost a decade ago (where has the time gone?), I worked at Monticello for roughly seven years. My last few roles were Martha-of-many-trades jobs, doing everything from loading buses and giving tours to helping with events and addressing guest feedback. Not surprisingly, […]
As our country celebrates its collective independence, Charlottesville has the additional honor of welcoming new citizens into the nation at July 4th at Monticello. The historic home’s West Portico transforms into an open-air Naturalization Ceremony where the Oath of Citizenship to become an American is issued to dozens of deserving individuals. This year’s keynote address […]
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is a major historic building in Charlottesville, but its grounds are also an active archeological site, where teams work to uncover the stories of enslaved people and ancestral Monacan in the area. Now, visitors can tour these sites themselves through this year’s Plantation Archaeology Walking Tour. To learn more, we spoke with […]
About blooming time: All those April showers brought plenty of May flowers to the gardens at Monticello. Peggy Cornett, the estate’s curator of plants, leads the annual Spring Wildflower Walk at TJ’s place. And if the rigorous five-mile hike gave you pause in the past, you’re in luck: This year’s event is virtual, which means […]
Tracing the music: Get in your steps and a history lesson during David McCormick’s Black Fiddlers of Monticello walking tour, a tribute to the Scott and Hemings family fiddlers. McCormick, a founding performer with the Early Access Music Project, uses recent research as a fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies to trace the […]
French connections: In his four years as the United States minister to France, Thomas Jefferson came to love all things French, especially the cuisine—and the sophisticated culinary palate he developed is still serving us today. In The Art of French Brasserie Cooking at Monticello, the newly appointed Chef David Bastide teaches us about the fine […]
Wine diplomacy: If you’re interested in celebrating presidents, pairing them with wine may be the way to go. In a nod to Presidents’ Day, the second installment of Monticello’s History in a Glass series explores Thomas Jefferson’s passion for wine and the influence it had on diplomatic relations and social entertaining at the White House. […]
Thomas Jefferson never wrote about the food at Monticello. His kitchens were stocked with ingredients from around the world—cinnamon from Asia, lemons from the Caribbean, brandies and fine cheeses from Richmond. But in his writing, Jefferson didn’t remark on the fine food that his enslaved chefs prepared for his table. He simply expected its consistent […]
As if COVID-19 weren’t enough, central Virginia is fighting another plague, only this one—the emerald ash borer—threatens our trees. The beetle may look like a tiny jewel— it’s a bright metallic green, small enough to sit on a penny— but it’s been scything down local ash trees like a malevolent Paul Bunyan. “No ash tree […]