News Releases

Olympic champion Nadia Comăneci to be featured July 4 speaker at Monticello, May 11, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Gold-medal-winning gymnast Nadia Comăneci will be the featured speaker at Monticello’s 50th annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony.

Wine Festival at Monticello 2012,  May 7, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—An article about Virginia wine in Wine Spectator this month concluded with, “Any trip to Charlottesville should begin or end at Monticello. Just walking around Jefferson’s home will help you develop a deeper understanding of the author of the Declaration of Independence and a key figure in American wine.”

Monticello Archaeologists make exciting discovery of Jefferson-era artifacts, slave homes, and other dwellings on farm near Monticello , April 26, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Monticello archaeologists have discovered two previously unknown archaeological sites that contain nineteenth century artifacts, including remains of slave homes—some from Jefferson’s time. The sites were discovered at Tufton, historically significant as one of Thomas Jefferson’s four quarter farms located about a mile and a quarter east of Monticello.

National book launch for ‘A Rich Spot of Earth’ at Monticello to be held during Historic Garden Week in Virginia , April 16, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States of America was a revolutionary gardener. Today, the vegetables and herbs Jefferson favored are thriving in the 1,000-foot terraced vegetable garden at his home Monticello.

Revolutionary chef Alice Waters to visit Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, April 16, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Revolutionary chef Alice Waters will visit Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, April 19 and 20, 2012, as part of a celebration of Jefferson’s legacy as a farmer and our most famously epicurean President.

2012 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals To Be Awarded to Rafael Moneo, George Mitchell and Jessica Tuchman Mathews, February 28, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—‘The University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello will present their highest honors, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals in architecture, law and citizen leadership, during Founder's Day activities on April 13.

Make memories at Monticello this holiday season!, November 30, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—‘Tis the season for holiday cheer! Be a guest at Thomas Jefferson’s house this December, experience the holidays during Jefferson’s time and make your own memories at Monticello.

Travel Diary of Thomas Jefferson’s granddaughter published this December, November 29, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Thomas Jefferson promised his five-year-old granddaughter Ellen that one day “you will become a learned lady and publish books yourself.” Coolidge’s first book, a diary she kept as an adult woman, will be published this December by scholars at Monticello’s Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies.

American and Russian Scholars to Discuss Thomas Jefferson and Tsar Alexander I at Moscow Conference, October 11, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Prominent American and Russian historians will gather in Moscow from October 13 to 14, 2011 for a two-day symposium entitled, “Idealism, Statecraft and Foreign Policy in Jeffersonian America and Russia of Alexander I,” at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Monticello and National Museum of African American History and Culture to Explore Jefferson and Slavery at Monticello, August 30, 2011
Washington, D.C.—Monticello and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) today announced their collaboration on a new exhibition entitled “Jefferson and Slavery at Monticello: Paradox of Liberty,” set to open in the NMAAHC Gallery in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on January 27, 2012.

Jefferson’s Montalto to become classroom for wine-making, July 21, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.— Thomas Jefferson’s “high mountain” overlooking Monticello will become a hands-on classroom for Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) students studying viticulture and enology.

Monticello Awarded $500,000 Grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation, June 30, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Monticello today announced that it has been awarded a grant of $500,000 from The Coca-Cola Foundation for an education program aimed at bringing contemporary relevance to the genius of Thomas Jefferson. The ‘Liberty Today’ initiative will bring together top teachers, international fellows, talented students and digital experts to create a dynamic, online educational platform that contributes to a modern understanding of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Charlottesville/Albemarle chosen as site for Wine Bloggers Conference, June 22, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—The Virginia wine industry is in the national spotlight thanks to an effective marketing effort supported by the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB) to bring more than 300 wine bloggers to Charlottesville this July..

First public conference at Montalto to discuss diplomacy and education, June 10, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Beginning June 4th and 5th, Monticello’s visitors can discover the sights and sounds of Mulberry Row, Monticello’s main plantation road, during Mulberry Row: Monticello’s Main Street weekends. 

Monticello's Main Street comes to life, June 3, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Beginning June 4th and 5th, Monticello’s visitors can discover the sights and sounds of Mulberry Row, Monticello’s main plantation road, during Mulberry Row: Monticello’s Main Street weekends.

 Thomas Jefferson Foundation receives a gift of history from Martha Jefferson Hospital, May 11, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—A chair and a tall-case (grandfather) clock, original furnishings in James A. Patterson’s Repose, the house atop Montalto, have returned home, thanks to a generous gift from Martha Jefferson Hospital.

Monticello’s Montalto 5K to feature “First Responder Challenge”, May 6, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—The Montalto Challenge, a demanding 5K race to the summit of Thomas Jefferson’s “high mountain,” will be held tomorrow, Saturday, May 7, at 8:00 a.m.

Muhtar Kent to be featured speaker at Monticello’s July 4 Ceremony, May 5, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, will be the featured speaker at Monticello’s 49th annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony.

Monticello Director of Gardens and Grounds receives national award, May 2, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.— Monticello’s Director of Gardens and Grounds, Peter Hatch, often quotes Jefferson’s Memorandum of Services to My Country (September 2, 1800), “The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add an useful plant to it's [SIC] culture.”

Monticello hosts Historic Garden Week in Virginia celebration to mark the restoration of winding walk flower border and oval beds, April 14, 2011

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—In celebration of the Garden Club of Virginia’s restoration of the twenty oval flower beds and the winding walk flower border, Monticello will hold a garden party during Historic Garden Week in Virginia, with award-winning author Andrea Wulf on April 18.

TJF medalist Peterson to speak at Monticello’s April 13 event, April 4, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Peter G. Peterson will be the featured speaker at Monticello's commemoration of Jefferson's 268th birthday on April 13 at 10 a.m. on the West Lawn of Monticello. Peterson, who established his eponymous foundation in 2008 to advocate for fiscal reform in the U.S. will receive the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership, one of the highest honors presented by U.Va. and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

2011 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals To Be Awarded to Maya Lin, Cynthia Kinser and Pete Peterson, March 21, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—The University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation will present their highest honors, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals in architecture, law and citizen leadership, during Founder's Day activities on April 13. The awards are presented jointly by U.Va. and by the foundation, the independent, nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello.

Monticello Scholars Identify 74 of Thomas Jefferson’s Books at Washington University in St. Louis Library, February 21, 2011
St. Louis, MO – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Washington University in St. Louis announced today the discovery by Monticello scholars that a collection of books, long held in the libraries at Washington University in St. Louis, originally were part of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library. 

Monticello Brews Jefferson-inspired ale, January 25, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—A revolution is brewing in the artisanal beer world, inspired by the taste of Thomas Jefferson and what was brewed historically at Monticello.  The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, in collaboration with Starr Hill Brewery, announces the launch of Monticello Reserve Ale, the official beer of Monticello.

Lockhart elected chairman of Thomas Jefferson Foundation Board, January 19, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—H. Eugene Lockhart, Jr., of Keswick, has been elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc., the private, nonprofit corporation that has owned and operated Monticello since 1923.

Experience the magic of the holiday season at the home of Thomas Jefferson, December 14, 2010
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA— Candlelight tours of Monticello will be held through Thursday, December 30, 2010. Visitors have the opportunity to experience Monticello by candlelight and get an intimate look at how the winter holiday season was observed during Jefferson’s era through Holiday Evening Tours.

Thomas Jefferson Foundation announces first holiday 5K, November 11, 2010
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—‘Tis the season for holiday cheer! Whether you’re ready to make a run for the hills or spread your enthusiastic holiday spirit—nothing makes the holiday season more memorable than spending quality time with family and friends.

Monticello offers visitors free archaeology walking tours, October 21, 2010
Charlottesville, VA—Visitors can explore the Monticello plantation with a guided tour of the archaeological landscape and see Monticello artifacts in the Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center Woodland Pavilion, Friday, October 22 – Saturday, October 23, during Virginia Archaeology Month. Visitors will learn about the archaeology department at Monticello, which has been working to unearth history as part of the Monticello Plantation Archaeological Survey since 1997.

Monticello & Virginia Wine Board Sponsor 2010 Governor's Cup for White Wine, September 27, 2010
Charlottesville, VA—The Virginia Wine Board hosts the Governor's Cup for White Wines, Wednesday, September 29, 2010, at 6:30 p.m., on the West Lawn of Monticello, as part of the kick off celebration of October Virginia Wine Month.

Monticello Hosts Fall Wine Events, September, 7, 2010
Charlottesville, VA—Wine is the theme this fall at Thomas Jefferson's mountaintop Monticello home. Regional Virginia wineries and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation celebrate Thomas Jefferson's impact on American wines with a pair of events: the inaugural Wine Festival at Monticello, September 18, 2010, on Monticello's West Lawn from 6-9 p.m.; and the 22nd Annual Kickoff to October Virginia Wine Month, September 29, 2010. The 2010 Governor's Cup for White Wines will be announced at this event.