Visitors to Monticello often wonder at its practical accessories. Jefferson labored a month to save a minute. His home was impractical from the start — by reason of its very site (on a mountain), by the height given the first version of the building (later disguised in a way that left useless spaces in and around its dome), by the perpetual course
of its dismantling and reassembly. To make the house more convenient, he made his daughter and her children live for years in a chaos of artistic second thoughts, sometimes sheltered only by canvas as the roof rose, fell, and assumed new shapes in his mind.
Harrison, Benjamin V
Charles City, VA — Built in 1726 by Benjamin Harrison IV, it became the home of Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; includes period furniture, antiques, and extensive grounds overlooking the James River.
Philadelphia, PA — Completed in 1770, this Georgian building was the meeting place of the First Continental Congress in 1774.
Philadelphia, PA — Site of the Second Continental Congress and of the signing of the Declaration of Independence; access is available through a Park Ranger tour.
Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence (1978)