Jefferson's UVA Grounds -- Legacies and Legends

Our friend Rick Britton is offering a class through the Charlottesville Senior Center entitled "Tales of the University: Great Names & Events in U.Va.'s Early History." Details are as follows:

Introduction—The beautiful University of Virginia is truly a special gem among institutions of higher learning. The story of its founding along with the fascinating accounts of its first century form the basis for this six-session class. Come join us & hear “Tales of the University!”

The Class—Held at the Senior Center Inc. Time: 5:30 - 7:00 PM. Charge: Senior Center members: $45.00—guests: $55.00. The Senior Center Inc. is located at 1180 Pepsi Place, just off of Greenbrier Drive, two blocks east of 29 North. (Parking is free. Travel Session is a separate charge.)

• Thurs. Sept. 3rd - The Founding of the University of Virginia: Its earlier incarnations, and the many years, sweat, and debate that went into its birthing. The “Hobby” of Jefferson’s old age!

• Thurs. Sept. 10th - Great Names on the Grounds, Lafayette & Madison: The Marquis de Lafayette's emotionally charged 1824 visit and the story of James Madison’s eighteen years as Rector.

• Thurs. Sept. 17th - Literary Giants, Poe & McGuffey: Edgar Allan Poe's previously misrepresented attendance and the amazing literary legacy of U.Va. Professor William Holmes McGuffey.

• Thurs. Sept. 24th - The University in the Civil War: John Mosby’s infamous U.Va. career, University students and professors in the conflict, and the institution’s capture by Union horsemen in March 1865!

• Thurs. Oct. 1st - General Cocke & the Rotunda Fire: The momentous life of John Hartwell Cocke, member of the first Board of Visitors, and the 1895 "catastrophe of the first magnitude," the fire that gutted the Rotunda.

• Thurs. Oct. 8th - A Conqueror & a Fighter, Reed & McConnell: U.Va. alum Walter Reed's conquest of yellow fever and the thrill-a-minute life of Jimmy McConnell—student, biplane pilot, and brilliant war correspondent.

• Thurs. Oct. 15th - Travel Session: An afternoon tour of the original Grounds plus a very special event at Special Collections. (Separate charge.)

Instructor—Rick Britton is an award-winning author and historian. His Jefferson: A Monticello Sampler—released in 2008 by Mariner Publishing—won a Bronze Medal in the mid-Atlantic region at the 2009 Independent Publishers Book Awards in New York City.