Restoration

Over 100 Years of Restoration

Monticello is, and always has been, a work in progress. Since 1923, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation has been committed to preserving and restoring Monticello so the house and historic landscapes appear as they did in Thomas Jefferson's later years.

What We Do

We study documents and analyze historic building materials to restore Monticello to how it looked in Jefferson's lifetime.

Our Restoration Specialists painstakingly care for the historic and reconstructed buildings on the mountaintop, preventing deterioration before it starts.

Specialized treatments are needed to stabilize and restore historic building materials so they last for generations.

Featured Projects

Architecture

Find out more on Thomas Jefferson's lifelong passion for architecture and how he developed Monticello and what would become iconic building styles in America.

Learn more
Elevation drawing of Monticello I, showing a neoclassical building with two-story portico with a triangular pediment, by Thomas Jefferson probably before March 1771, by Thomas Jefferson. N48; K23 [electronic edition]. Thomas Jefferson Papers: An Electronic Archive. Boston, Mass. : Massachusetts Historical Society, 2003. http://www.thomasjeffersonpapers.org/

  • Gardiner Hallock
    Senior Vice President for Preservation and Operations

    James Zehmer
    Director of Restoration

    Carol Richardson
    Senior Restoration Specialist

    Jolen Bain
    Restoration Specialist

    Contact Information
    If you would like to contact the Restoration or Collections departments, please email preserving@monticello.org.