Tufton farm was one of Thomas Jefferson’s quarter farms and borders the Monticello plantation. The land was originally patented by Jefferson’s father, Peter Jefferson, as two separate tracts of 150 acres each, in 1740 and 1755.^[1] Thomas Jefferson inherited Tufton as part of his patrimony. The property at Tufton served as agricultural land, providing abundant crops and acting as an important food source for the Monticello plantation. Beginning in 1817, Tufton was managed by Jefferson’s grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph.^[2]

At some point in the late eighteenth century, a log cabin was built on the property. Thomas Jefferson Randolph built a stone house in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and a subsequent owner, Thomas Seldon Macon, added a brick addition to the stone structure in the second quarter of the nineteenth century.^[3]

Today, Tufton houses the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants.

- Alana Speth, 7/10/07

Further Sources

• Virginia Historical Inventory. The Virginia Historical Inventory contains a survey report and early 20th-century photographs of the Tufton property.
• "Monticello Archaeologists Discover Jefferson-Era Artifacts, Slave Homes, and Other Dwellings on Farm Near Monticello." Monticello vol. 23, no. 1 (2012): 1.
• Search for further sources on Tufton in the Thomas Jefferson Portal.