But most of the focus was on the foundation of the kitchen.
“We know from doing research at Monroe Hill that there were kitchens here from before the University existed,” archaeologist Benjamin Ford, principal of Rivanna Archaeological Services, said. “Monroe Hill was constructed by James Monroe as a residence and law office in the late 1700s.”
John Perry, a contractor who helped build the University, acquired Monroe Hill in 1814. He sold the property to the University shortly thereafter.
Ford thinks the foundation, fashioned from handmade bricks, dates from the 1840s and was built to replace an earlier kitchen.