Encyclopedia
1796 Mutual Assurance Plat
A plat by Jefferson with detailed descriptions and sketches of the main house, South Pavilion, and structures along Mulberry Row.
Monticello (Plantation)
Articles about the operation, organization, and people of the larger 5,000-acre Monticello.
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![Jefferson's sketch of Monticello and buildings along Mulberry with descriptions of each written out for insurance purposes, 1796. Labeled as N133; K136. Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 22.1 cm (18" x 8-11/16"). Original manuscript from the Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society.]()
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![Page from Jefferson's Farm Book showing the lineage of his horse Caractacus.]()
EncyclopediaAllycroker
A look at of one of Jefferson's favorite riding horses, Allycroker, an early generation Thoroughbred who foaled several other of his horses.
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Bartholomew Kindred
Bartholomew Kindred was a free white craftsman who worked as a weaver for Thomas Jefferson during the American Revolution.
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![USGS/PD]()
EncyclopediaBees and Honey
Find out about Thomas Jefferson's interest in bees, beekeeping, and honey at Monticello.
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![Modern black-and-white map of Virgina by Rick Britton]()
Betsy Hemmings
Betsy Hemmings was an enslaved laborer at Monticello, the daughter of Mary Hemings Bell. Jefferson gave her to his daughter, Maria Jefferson Eppes, as a wedding gift.
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![Digital model of a Nailery (lighter colored building on the left) and Blacksmith's Shop (darker colored building on the right), both with simple, non-glass windows and large doors.]()
EncyclopediaBlacksmith's Shop
Workshop for blacksmithing and nail-making on Mulberry Row
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![Detail from "Blacksmith 1st Mass. Arty. Harrisons" by Alfred R. Waud, 1862; Library of Congress]()
EncyclopediaBlacksmithing
A critical trade and a useful skill at Monticello
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EncyclopediaCaractacus
Learn more about the lineage of what was perhaps Thomas Jefferson's most well-known riding horse.
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![Digital model of the Carpenter's Shop, a wooden building with barn doors, shuttered windows, and an a-frame roof.]()
EncyclopediaCarpenter's Shop
Temporary workshop for basic woodworking that also served as short-term living quarters.
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EncyclopediaCharcoal
A source of heat and power for Monticello and its forges
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![A small wooden building with an a-frame roof, a door, and no windows.]()
EncyclopediaCoal Sheds
Shed for storing charcoal
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![A drawing of an a-frame building with a water whell on it's lower right sits next to a railroad track and ando ther building]()
EncyclopediaCoopering
Learn how barrelmaking (coopering) by enslaved workers at Monticello was a profitable source of income for Jefferson.
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![AI generated image from an original Monticello photograph]()
EncyclopediaCotton
Enslaved laborers cultivated cotton at Monticello for several decades.
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![A drawing of Shadwell looking toward Montalto with Monticello to the right (marked with a small o above it) and Jefferson's mill on the Rivanna to the left.]()
Craven Peyton
Craven Peyton was a merchant in Albemarle County, Virginia, with financial and familial connections to Jefferson.
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![A small wood-and-daub, a-frame structure with a simple wooden door, two windows, and a chimney on one side.]()
Critta Hemings Bowles
A look at the life of Critta Hemings, an enslaved domestic servant at Monticello from about 1775 until 1827, when a Jefferson's grandson purchased her freedom.
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![A 20th-century painting by Nathaniel Gibbs depicting a wheat harvest at Monticello]()
EncyclopediaCrops, Produce, and Livestock
Information about the types of cash crops, produce, and livestock raised at Monticello and when certain crops were cultivated.
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![Drawing of two women working with milk on opposite sides of a room lined with shelves holding bowls of various sizes and two small butter churns on the floor.]()
EncyclopediaDairying
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![Painting of Monticello and its West Lawn with two girls in white dresses, a boy playing with a hoop, and a man sitting to side sketching or painting.]()
EncyclopediaDogs
Learn more about Thomas Jefferson's interest in working dogs and his objections to wild dogs.
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![A small a-frame clapboard structure with a simple wooden door, one window, and a chimney on one side.]()
EncyclopediaDwelling (MRS 2)
An unnamed log dwelling for the enslaved not listed in Jefferson's records.
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![A small wood-and-daub building with a door and a log-and-daub chimney on the side.]()
EncyclopediaDwelling (MRS 4)
Dwelling for enslaved people
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Edmund
A hired enslaved field laborer at Monticello.
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Edmund Bacon
Edmund Bacon was an overseer at Monticello whose recollections of his experiences and his relationship with Thomas Jefferson were published in 1862.
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![The recreated paling fence reaching along Mulberry Row to the recreated Hemmings Cabin at Monticello.]()
Elisha Watkins
Monticello's head plantation carpenter hired by Jefferson to supervise enslaved "out-carpenters."
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![The recreated paling fence reaching along Mulberry Row to the recreated Hemmings Cabin at Monticello.]()
EncyclopediaFences
Several different types of fences were in use at Monticello, including wood, stone, ditches, and living plants.
