Monticello's former Robert H. Smith Director of Restoration, Bob Self, demonstrates the making a mortise and tenon joint, one of the classic techniques that would have been used by joiners James Dinsmore and John Hemmings at Monticello.
Fear of separation from loved ones was one of the great underlying terrors of slavery. Today we hear the story of a fight that broke out between two enslaved teenagers working in Monticello's Nailery and the dire consequences that followed.
Nance (Nancy) Hemings was an enslaved woman whom Jefferson inherited, gave as a wedding gift and later bought back to help run a weaving operation he established at Monticello.
With "a greater eye to convenience," Jefferson employed a number of mechanical gadgets at Monticello, including several different types of dumbwaiters.
Jefferson was Monticello's architect. But many of its finest architectural features -- including this lovely Elliptical Arch in Monticello's Library -- were realized by two highly skilled joiners, James Dinsmore, a hired worker, and John Hemmings, who was enslaved at Monticello.
Recently, Charlottesville has been a focal point in the national conversation on race. We have seen crowds gather in our town square to debate essential questions of race and history. We are aware of – and deeply concerned by – a planned march by a hate group in our community. While it is not our...
Derek Baxter is a guest blogger and Monticello enthusiast who attended the British Invasion, 1781 event on June 18, 2016. Learn about his experience and mark your calendars for June 3-4, 2017. The first clue that this was not going to be an ordinary day at Monticello was the two armed Redcoats...
Join Leslie Greene Bowman, President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, on horseback as she retraces Jefferson's daily ride around his Monticello plantation.
Over the past two weeks, the archaeology field crew, led by Field Research Manager Crystal Ptacek, has made exciting discoveries in the South Pavilion and the adjacent South Wing that connects the Pavilion to the mansion. They have unearthed evidence that will advance our understanding of the...
