Tour
From Slavery to Freedom
2.5 hours
A Plantation
Monticello as a Plantation
During Thomas Jefferson's lifetime, Monticello was a 5,000-acre plantation where more than 400 enslaved men, women, and children lived and labored. Through decades of research, archaeology, and preservation, Monticello has become one of the most thoroughly documented plantations in the world.
Today, Monticello provides a powerful lens for understanding the realities of slavery and layered stories of our shared past.
Explore on this website
How to explore the Plantation and Slavery while visiting Monticello
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![The names of people enslaved at Monticello cut into spaces in a corten steel wall so that they stand out from the light behind them.]()
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![A guide stands next to a dwelling for enslaved people leading a tour for a group of visitors]()
TourSlavery at Monticello Tour
45 minutes
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![Two young girls, one of them pointing emphatically, look at a smart phone held by one of their parents.]()
Self-guided Mobile Experiences
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![A wide image of the wooded area surrounding the Burial Ground for Enslaved People at Monticello, showing the sites updated fencing and plantings from 2022.]()
ExhibitBurial Ground for Enslaved People
Near Monticello's visitor center
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![Visitors leaving a small wooden, mud-and-daub building, known as the Storehouse for Iron, that has been recreated on Monticello's Mulberrry Row.]()
ExhibitSites along Mulberry Row
Historic mountaintop area
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![Jefferson's obelisk gravestone, which features the three things his wished most to be remembered for: the Declaration of Independence; the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the University of Virginia.]()
ExhibitJefferson's Grave
Historic mountaintop area
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![A sign for the Granger Hemings Kitchen with a painting of a woman descending the stairs that once led from the Jefferson's living space above.]()
ExhibitGranger/Hemings Kitchen
Monticello, South Wing
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ExhibitPlantation Model
David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center
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ExhibitCook’s Room
Monticello, South Wing
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![Shelves with copper pans and cooking utensils like the walls of Monticello's restored kitchen, which features a brick floor, a large hearth, a large preparation table, and a row of stew stoves along the left wall.]()
Exhibit1809 Kitchen
Monticello, South Wing
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![A man and his daughter look at cutout life-sized depictions of a man and a woman in early 19th-century dress while another man looks at a cutout image of an enslaved boy carrying firewood and a bucket.]()
ExhibitExhibits under the Main House
All-Weather Passage and Main House Basement
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![The names of people enslaved at Monticello cut into spaces in a corten steel wall so that they stand out from the light behind them.]()
ExhibitContemplative Site
Historic mountaintop area
