On January 28th 1772, Thomas Jefferson and his new bride, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, rode through a treacherous blizzard to arrive at a cold, dark Monticello for the first time as a couple. Their daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph later wrote that she had “often heard both” her parents tell of the “horrible dreariness” of the scene, but also of their happiness.

In this live conversation, Thomas Jefferson (as interpreted by Bill Barker) reflects on the winter of 1772 with his wife Martha Jefferson, and on other winter memories throughout his lifetime.

Monticello’s South Pavilion, where Thomas and Martha Jefferson lived in 1772 during Monticello’s construction.