Student Experience

University’s founder invites students to come visit his home

University of Virginia students have plenty of reasons for not having visited Monticello, the home of UVA founder Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps they grew up far away, or their families never quite made it there, or they lack a way to make the five-mile drive.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates Monticello, has removed one potential obstacle: cost. UVA students can obtain one free ticket by showing their student ID, saving $42 over the normal admission price for the standard tour. And with Family Weekend approaching, the transportation issue may be temporarily resolved.

UVA Today recently used its social media accounts to invite students to make their first trip to Jefferson’s home. Three first-year students took us up on the offer, and on a beautiful fall afternoon, made the trip up the mountain to learn more about the country’s third president.

Tourists stroll the grounds of Monticello during one of the busiest months of its visitation season. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

Ellie Williams and Jackie Green came to UVA from Chicago and Henderson Harbor in upstate New York, respectively, so it’s no surprise they had never visited Monticello. Green, in fact, had only visited Charlottesville “for a few hours” before choosing UVA.

Both said they were curious to learn more about the University’s founder.

“I loved ‘Hamilton,’ so I know a little bit about him from that,” Williams said.

Caroline Geeslin hails from Falls Church, and although her family had visited Williamsburg and Jamestown, they never made it to Monticello. “I feel like I definitely don’t know much” about Jefferson, Geeslin admitted.

From left, first-year students Ellie Williams, Jackie Green and Caroline Geeslin with their tour guide

From left, Williams, Green and Geeslin look around the entry foyer, which guide Kolton Smith, right, explains served as a private museum for Jefferson’s many visitors. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

After driving most of the way up the mountain past foliage nearing its fall peak, they reached Monticello’s visitor’s center, picked up their tickets, and were whisked to the mountaintop by a minibus.

After taking in the spectacular views, they met guide Kolton Smith, who described how the Jefferson family’s 7,000-acre estate once operated. Once inside, the students were struck by Smith’s explanation of the entry hall, which in Jefferson’s time served as both a public and private space, welcoming visitors who often came unannounced to pay their respects.

The hall displayed artifacts from Lewis and Clark’s expedition to explore the new American West, including fossils, taxidermy, maps and Native American items.

The tour proceeded through more private areas of the house: the library, once home to more than 6,000 books, where Jefferson penned many of his 19,000 letters; and his bedroom, with its 18-foot ceiling, skylight and surprisingly short alcove bed, built into the wall. Green and Geeslin discreetly took pictures with their phones.

“I liked learning different facts about how he lived – like how he slept sitting upright and put his feet in an ice bath in the mornings,” Williams said later.

Next were the areas of the house where Jefferson entertained his guests: the parlor and the dining room, sparking questions from Green about architectural details.

Throughout the tour, Smith discussed themes essential to understanding Jefferson – his political philosophy, views on religious freedom, love of learning and the lavish spending that left his family burdened with debt for decades. He also addressed Jefferson's long relationship with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman. Research commissioned by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation concluded that Jefferson fathered at least six children with Hemings.

View of the University of Virginia from Monticello

Monticello’s groundskeepers keep the trees trimmed to maintain the view that Jefferson had from the North Terrace, where he could oversee construction of the University of Virginia. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

“Jefferson was an idealist who did not always live up to his own ideals,” Smith said.

Back outdoors on the north terrace, Smith pointed out the spot where Jefferson used his telescope to monitor the progress of construction of the University, the project of his old age.

Afterward, Green noted “how much he cared about the University. It was not a hobby or just something that they put his name on. It was his university, his project, his goal.”

The outing concluded with Justin Bates, Monticello’s manager of special programs, leading the group on a tour of the grounds. The students saw where the less visible work took place – kitchens, wine cellars, stables, the tiny quarters that once housed as many as 10 members of enslaved families.

All three students said they would recommend a longer visit to their friends.

“It’s definitely worth it to try and make a day out of it,” Geeslin said. “Just to absorb all of the information and the learning there.”

Williams agreed. “Be present and really listen to the tour guides, because they really know a lot,” she said. “Finding out about all the little niche things was cool.”

The trio was unanimous in their desire to return.

“I’m telling everyone to go,” Green said.