James Madison’s Montpelier

Orange
VA
Montpelier

Madison’s restored home in Virginia

OTHER IMAGES

View of Montpelier, 1802
Montpelier - James and Dolley Madison Graves
Montpelier - Temple

QUICK FACTS
  • When building completed (c. 1764), Montpelier became one of the largest brick homes in Orange county.
  • Montpelier is expanded twice by Madison. The first time (1797 - 1800), it allows James and Dolley Todd Madison (married 1794), to have a virtually separate house from that of the parents. A 30-foot extension (front-left) provides private space and a Tuscan portico placed in the center creates a unified exterior.
  • During Madison’s presidency Montpelier is expanded again (1809 - 12) to include one story wings at each end of the house, plus the addition of a large drawing room.
  • Dolley Madison sells the estate (1844) and it goes through successive owners until it is purchased by William and Annie Rogers duPont (1901).
  • The duPonts’ daughter, Marion, eventually doubles the size of the mansion; she also bequeaths it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation at her death (1983).
  • Restoration of Montpelier to its c. 1820 appearance begins 2003 and is formally completed on Constitution Day, 17-Sep-2008.
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Built c. 1764 by his father, Montpelier was the lifelong home of James Madison. Fully restored in 2008, the estate currently encompasses nearly 2,700 acres (though during Madison’s time there were some 4,000 acres, as well as about 100 slaves) with breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

While the architecture has been restored to its c. 1820 appearance, work on finishing and furnishing the interior is in progress. After her husband’s death in 1836, Dolley Madison sold or gave away the contents of the mansion. Now work is underway to understand the decorations of each room and to try to reinstall original or period furniture.

A 45-minute guided tour takes visitors through the first and the second floors of the mansion, including the presidential-era library on the first floor, and the room on the second floor that contained the Old Library, where Madison spent months preparing for the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

The estate includes Mr. Madison’s Temple, formal gardens, trails, and the Madison Family Cemetery, where James and Dolley Madison are buried. A Visitors Center includes an introductory movie, exhibits, a museum, and the Archaeology Lab.

Associated People
Madison, James
Madison, Dolley

Racial prejudice worked to perpetuate American slavery, even if it was not essential to sustain the institution. Slavery, serfdom, and peonage had existed elsewhere without racial connotations. Indeed, bondage had been so historically ubiquitous one might well ask why, by the 1760’s, it had come to trouble so many white Americans so much. The answer lies in part — and this part help explain why people like Mason did not act more aggressively on their concerns — in the reservations many whites felt about living alongside members of a supposedly inferior race, whether slave or free. The problem was inherent in American slavery, and emancipation, by undermining white control, would only make it worse.

— Jeff Broadwater
George Mason: Forgotten Founder (2006)