06-09 Montpelier

From 06-09 Montpelier

(Note: This is another of my “long winded” Blogs. If you only want to see pictures, just click on any picture and that should take you to the online album with Montpelier pictures.)

Monday we enjoyed a lovely day visiting Montpelier, the home of James and Dolley Madison.

From 06-09 Montpelier

James was the 4th President and served during the War of 1812. He is also called the Father of the Constitution. He did extensive research prior to the Constitutional Convention. He asked his good friend Thomas Jefferson who was in France to send him books on forms of government not under a monarch’s rule. Jefferson sent him 500 books in several different languages. Madison studied them all. He developed “The Virginia Plan” that was ultimately the foundation of the Constitution. He later wrote 12 proposed amendments. Ten of these were approved which we of course know as the “Bill of Rights”.

Dolley was vivacious and much loved by Washington society. President Zachary Taylor delivered the eulogy at her funeral and said she had been “the First Lady” of the republic for 50 years. That was the origination of the term used ever since for the President’s wife.

Two routes were recommended to reach Montpelier. We went one way and came back the other. This is horse country. We passed one beautiful farm after another. Many fields had been mowed and were dotted with round bales of straw. Others had tall stalks of grass blowing in the wind and were ready for mowing. Some fields had short dark green grass that looked like a golf course. We saw many horses and some cattle. I only saw one field with a crop. It had corn up about two feet high. At various points we would pass a gorgeous home sitting on a rise with a great view across the pastures and forests to the surrounding hills and Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

Montpelier has just such a view. There is a long lawn looking toward the hills.

From 06-09 Montpelier

The history of the house is quite interesting, and we enjoyed the tour as much as the one at Monticello. The original house was built by James’ father. Many years later, James got his parents permission to expand the house when he married Dolley. (He was 43 and she was 26) You might say they built a duplex. There were two houses joined together but with no connecting door. They had to go out onto the front porch to go between the two sides, so they also added a large Portico as protection from the weather.

From 06-09 Montpelier

James later expanded the house adding to each side a one story wing with a patio on top of each roof. Like Jefferson he designed these patios to collect water for use in the gardens. When remodeling to add these wings, a passage way was also added to the front to allow movement between each side without going outside. James’ Mother lived in her side of the house until she was 93.

After James died, Dolley moved back to Washington. Some years later the economy was bad and the farm was not managed well. She was forced to sell everything. In 1901 the house and estate were acquired by William DuPont, the son of the father and grandfather who founded the DuPont Company. William and his wife Annie undertook extensive renovations and additions. The house went from 22 rooms and 0 baths to 55 rooms and 12 baths. After William and Annie died, their daughter Marion continued to live in the house. She loved horses and developed one of the leading horse training facilities in America. She had many champions one of which was the first American horse to win the British Grand National Steeplechase. There are race tracks and many barns on the estate.

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This one has a sign saying it is now a part of the National Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

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The retired horses enjoy this pasture.

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Upon Marion’s death in 1984 she deeded the house and estate to the National Trust for the Preservation of Historic Houses. She requested it be returned to the way it looked in Madison’s lifetime. Around 2000, someone donated $20 million for the project. The Dupont additions have been removed and the reconstruction has just been accomplished with work on the house and a new visitors center finishing in 2008. Only the painting of some of the interior rooms remains to be done. As usual we were not allowed to take any interior photographs.

They are now working to recover as much of the original Madison furniture, paintings, etc. as possible. Much has been located and is in various museums and private collections. The foundation hopes to borrow as much as possible to place back in the home. That research, collection and any restoration is expected to take another three to five years. At the same time various archeological digs are taking place around the property to learn more about life in Colonial America.

The surrounding grounds are beautiful. One interesting feature is a structure called “The Temple”. It is built over a deep well dug to store ice. The Madison’s served iced drinks and, believe it or not, ice cream, throughout the year.

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Here is a view of the back lawn taken from one of the roof top patios.

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This view looks out to the front lawn from the same patio.

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A look back at the house from the rear lawn.

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There is also a beautiful formal garden.

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It was restored and expanded by the DuPont’s and again in the 1990’s by the Garden Club of Virginia.

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From 06-09 Montpelier

From 06-09 Montpelier

There were not as many flowers in bloom as at Monticello, but it will be beautiful when they all are in full bloom. There were thousands of day lilies about to bloom in another week or so.

Montpelier is definitely a place you will want to visit when in the Charlottesville area. It is a bit out into the country, but the drive out is very enjoyable. Allow at least 1/2 day for your visit. Pack a lunch. The sandwiches in their gift shop deli are expensive.