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Plantation & Slavery
Monticello was home not only to the Jefferson family, but to workers, black and white, enslaved and free.
Thomas Jefferson and Slavery
Articles on Jefferson's Attitudes toward Slavery, The Practice of Slavery at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings and more »
The Life of Sally Hemings
Sally Hemings was enslaved with her family at Monticello. She lived in Paris with Jefferson and two of his daughters from 1787 to 1789 and was the mother of at least six of Jefferson's children. Learn more »
Slavery FAQs
• People
• Property
• Life
• Work
Exploring Freedom and the Legacies of Slavery at Monticello
Online Exhibitions
Getting Word: African American Families of Monticello
Hear the stories of the descendants of Monticello's plantation community and trace their families from slavery to the present day.
Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty
Companion website: Landscape of Slavery: Mulberry Row at Monticello
Visit the companion website »
Videos on Slavery at Monticello
Download the free Slavery at Monticello App
Meet the individuals who lived and worked on Mulberry Row, once the industrial hub and “Main Street” of Thomas Jefferson’s 5,000-acre plantation. Free wifi is available on site. More »
Tours and Exhibitions at Monticello
Hemings Family Tours
Daily, February through November
See Monticello through the lens of the Hemings Family, the best documented enslaved family in the United States.
Slavery at Monticello Tours
Daily, year round
Find out how the Monticello plantation operated and about the lives of enslaved individuals who labored to build and sustain this historic place.
Landscape of Slavery: Mulberry Row at Monticello
This site-based, outdoor exhibition tells the stories of the dynamic, industrial hub of Jefferson’s 5,000-acre agricultural enterprise and a center of work and domestic life for dozens of people -- free whites, free blacks, servants, and enslaved people.
Crossroads
Life-sized figures, archaeologically recovered objects, and interactive models of the wine dumbwaiter, "servant's" bell, and storehouse locks, give a sense of the constant interaction and domestic activity required to keep Monticello running.
Articles on Slavery and the Monticello Plantation
Plantation Agriculture
Quarter Farms
Crops, Produce, and Livestock
Agricultural Machinery and Tools
Plantation Industry
Along Mulberry Row
On the Plantation
People of the Plantation
Enslaved People
Free Workers
Indentured Servants
Overseers
Explore the stories of remarkable families and individuals — free and enslaved — from over seven generations, through Monticello's tours, exhibitions, digital resources and special events.
