Although Jefferson obviously saw Monticello as an agricultural operation, he treated it more like an immense backdrop against which he played the role of statesman and participant in the republic of letters. It was a setting, the place where he also made entries into his various record books, read, played his violin (when he was younger), entertained guests when required, contemplated what to do about the plantation factories he built and operated for personal and commercial use, and planned his university. More than anything else, for Jefferson, Monticello was a place where he built things, most notably the house that was the centerpiece of his identity.
| Place | City | |
|---|---|---|
| Kings Mountain National Military Park | Blacksburg | This 3,945 acre park commemorates the 1780 battle between colonialists — Patriot vs. Loyalist with no British involved. |
| Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site | Camden | The 107-acre site includes the town of 18th century Camden, the Joseph Kershaw mansion — headquarters for Lord Cornwallis — and more. Fourteen battles of the Revolution were fought in the area. |
| Drayton Hall | Charleston | The mansion, built 1738-42, was the birthplace of patriot William Henry Drayton. |
| Middleton Place | Charleston | Well-preserved eighteenth century plantation with America's oldest landscaped gardens; the house dates to the late 1730s. |
| Old Slave Mart Museum | Charleston | Opened in 2007, the museum offers a narrative history of slavery in the U.S. The building, formerly Ryan’s Mart, was an actual showroom where slaves were bought and sold. |
| Cowpens National Battlefield | Chesnee | A pasturing area at the time of the battle, the site covers 845 acres and is preserved to its 1781 appearance. |
| Charles Pinckney National Historic Site | Mount Pleasant | Charles Pinckney was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a governor; the 28-acre site is just a remnant of Pinckney's 715-acre coastal plantation, Snee Farm. |
| Ninety Six National Historic Site | Nintey Six | Commemorates two Revolutionary War battles and includes the original 1781 Star Fort, historic roads, the original town sites of Ninety Six & Cambridge, the reconstructed Stockade Fort, and siege trenches. |
"Most Blessed of the Patriarchs" (2016)