On a cold day in mid-January 1827, members of the Charlottesville community made their way to Monticello to attend the estate sale of Thomas Jefferson. Announced in newspaper advertisements in late 1826, the sale consisted of furniture, kitchen wares, farm equipment, livestock, “curious and useful” articles, and, most tragically, “130 valuable negroes.” This sale, along with others held over the next two years, tore apart families, separated husbands and wives and parents and children, and created a diaspora of Monticello’s enslaved community.

Kyle Chattleton takes a deeper look at these sales and talks with Andrew Davenport, Public Historian at Monticello and Manager of the Getting Word African American Oral History Project, about what happened to many of the enslaved individuals after the dispersal sale, the important connection to the Getting Word Project, and about how they and their families’ lives are testaments to the triumph of the human spirit.

What does a portrait of Salome presenting the head of John the Baptist hanging in Monticello's Parlor have to do with religious freedom? Monticello Guide Alice Wagner retells this New Testament story and connects the painting — and other religious paintings at Monticello — to Thomas Jefferson’s commitment to religious freedom in the United States, specifically his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.

When it comes to history, there are a few ways that historians can research the past and bring it forward into the present. Old records and documents as well as oral history are potential avenues. Archaeology is another form of historical research.

In this episode of our Mountaintop History podcast Monticello guides Kyle Chattleton and Olivia Brown look at "Site 6," where archaeologists have uncovered thousands of artifacts that are providing new insights into the lives of the enslaved families who once lived there.

Monticello Guide Holly Haliniewski looks at the Levys, who owned and preserved Jefferson's mountaintop for nearly a century.

Connected to the Dining Room, with its bright yellow walls and dumbwaiter systems, is another smaller room called the Tea Room. It served as a sitting room where family and guests came to read or socialize, despite it being one of the coldest rooms in the house, albeit glorious on a sunny day.  At times it offered overflow seating at meals when the house was full. In the home of an architect like Thomas Jefferson, you may not expect to find a quick, non-traditional repair to a damaged object, especially in such a public space. In this episode of our Mountaintop History podcast, Monticello guide Olivia Brown talks with Diane Ehrenpreis, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts, and Lucy Midelfort, Architectural Conservator, about what uncovered in Monticello's Tea Room.

Monticello Guide Andrew Miles discusses the mechanisms of the clock, as well as its memorable imperfections, and Gardiner Hallock, Monticello’s Vice President for Architecture, Collections, and Facilities, tells us about the recent restoration efforts aimed at preserving the clock.

Monticello Guide Olivia Brown looks at Jefferson's travels to several famed English pleasure gardens and their influence on the gardens he designed at Monticello.

Monticello Guide Laura-Michal Balderson discusses Cornelia Jefferson Randolph's relationship with her grandfather, Thomas Jefferson, and highlights her mechanical drawings of the University of Virginia and Monticello's first floor.

Monticello Guide Olivia Brown looks at the life of Peter Jefferson, a Virginia planter, surveyor, county justice, member of the colonial legislature, loyal citizen of the British Empire, and father of the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.

Monticello Guide Sam Saunders looks at the life of enslaved personal servant Israel Gillette Jefferson and relates the momentous events in his life, such as the passing of Thomas Jefferson, his subsequent sale and separation from his first wife and children, and his move as free man to Ohio where he became a deacon and treasurer of Eden Baptist Church in Pike County.

At Monticello, food culture and dining were significant parts of daily life. Though Jefferson's desire for French style food and his interest in gastronomical cultures influenced how food was prepared at Monticello, it was enslaved African Americans who were chiefly responsible for the "rich" and "elegant" cuisine, literally from farm to table.

Danna Kelley focuses on the memorable story of Uriah Phillips Levy and his connection to Monticello. She discusses his career in the United States Navy, where he became the first Jewish-American to rise to the rank of commodore as well as the anti-Semitism he faced throughout his time in military service. She also explores his decision to purchase Monticello from James Barclay and begin preservation efforts for the home, and how these efforts were connected to his admiration for Thomas Jefferson.

Music was an important part of daily and family life for the Jefferson and Randolph families at Monticello. In this episode, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton discusses the different instruments you could find throughout the house then, the many musical manuscripts owned by Thomas Jefferson, and what kinds of music the family enjoyed performing for themselves and one another.

Monticello's Kyle Chattleton discusses one of the few moments in Monticello’s history where an enslaved individual was freed by Jefferson. We can only imagine Robert Hemings’ feelings after being released from Jefferson on Christmas Eve 1794, but historical documents show that Jefferson was not too happy about the manumission.

In 1824, an aging Marquis de Lafayette made a triumphant return to the young nation he fought for as a teenager, touring the growing United States from New England to New Orleans. Lafayette's travels included an emotional reunion at Monticello with fellow revolutionary Thomas Jefferson. His twelve-day visit, which was marked by dinners and celebrations, struck many as memorable at the time, including two men enslaved at Monticello for whom, even decades later, Lafayette's visit held special meaning.

Monticello guide Ariel Armenta explores Thomas Jefferson’s intentions for the Corps of Discovery and Meriwether Lewis’ preparations. She also focuses on the diverse character of this Corps, and the Expedition's lasting scientific impacts.

Thomas Jefferson owned books. A whole lot of books. He collected some ten thousand books throughout his life, but they were historically divided into three collections at Monticello. These books reflect Jefferson's firm belief that knowledge and education were the keys to human progress. They were also a source of pleasure for Jefferson and, as his granddaughter later explained, his "chosen companions."

Monticello guide David Thorson looks at how members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition celebrated the holiday season. He notes how different circumstances resulted in different experiences, and draws much of his discussion from William Clark’s journal.

Though most people are probably more likely to recognize the name of her daughter, Sally Hemings, Elizabeth Hemings was a powerful leader of an extensive family that was ingrained in all parts of life at Thomas Jefferson's plantation home. Monticello Guide Olivia Brown looks at her life and legacy.

Monticello guide Justin Bates discusses Jefferson's interest in the Louisiana Territory, his hopes for an "Empire of Liberty" across the North American continent, and the Purchase's lasting legacies for the United States and for the Indigenous nations that existed prior to the arrival Europeans.

As we begin to approach the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, we take a look at the group of the five delegates from five colonies — John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Robert Livingston of New York, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia — selected to write and edit this important document; known as the Committee of Five.

Monticello guide Mikey Amos explores the many curiosities of Jefferson's Cabinet office, including the polygraph.

In the late 1780s, Jefferson witnessed first-hand the beginnings of the French Revolution and what would become the eventual overthrow of King Louis XVI and the French monarchy. Monticello Guide Olivia Brown looks at Jefferson's reaction to this momentous event and the small but significant role he played in it.

Sam Riggs focuses on a significant object in the Cabinet: the bust of John Adams. She shares the ups and downs that these two “frenemies” experienced in their relationship, the reasons why they differed and ultimately went their separate ways, and how they rekindled their friendship. She concludes with a hopeful thought: that these two individuals might show us how even the most strained human connections can be repaired.

Monticello guide Olivia Brown looks at the life and controversial career of partisan journalist and political writer James Callender, who famously turned on his one-time political patron, Thomas Jefferson.

Monticello historian Niya Bates describes the Getting Word African American Oral History Project and how it has helped transform interpretive experience at Monticello since its inception in 1993.

Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton explores how plants and gardens animated a friendship between two individuals oftentimes separated by an ocean, revolution, and politics.

Music was an important part of life for enslaved people at Monticello and particular individuals within the enslaved community were noted for their artistic talents. Monticello guide and Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology Kyle Chattleton looks at the ways enslaved people at plantations across the United States used music and at the foundational role they played in creating a distinctly American musical tradition.

The fire began in the chimney, as one family member recalled. It was a windy spring day in central Virginia. The year was 1819.

Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton looks at the extremely close relationship of Monticello's enslaved joiner John Hemmings and his wife, Priscilla, an enslaved domestic servant owned by Jefferson's son-in-law, and at the couple's complex relationship with the Jefferson family.

Monticello guide Olivia Brown looks at Thomas Jefferson's earliest education and his lifelong promotion of learning, including his efforts to establish a system of public schools and the founding of the University of Virginia.

Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton takes us through the decades-long effort to establish the University of Virginia, which Jefferson considered one of three accomplishments for which he most wished to be remembered.

In the 1790s, Thomas Jefferson and much of the country faced a significant crisis caused by a tiny insect. Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton reads from an article prepared in 1991 by Lucia "Cinder" Stanton, Monticello's Shannon Senior Historian, focusing on the infamous Hessian fly.

Monticello guides Kyle Chattleton and Laura-Michal Balderson discuss the social expectations and realities women of the gentry class faced in 18th-century Virginia and how they both aligned and diverged for Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph.

In 1773 Thomas Jefferson purchased an enslaved family of three - George, Ursula, and their young son George, Jr. - and brought them to work at Monticello. The Grangers, their children, and their grandchildren would go on to include community leaders, skilled tradesmen, cooks, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, farmers, and cider-makers as well as caring spouses, parents, children, and siblings.

Trained at the President's House in Washington, D.C., enslaved chef Edith Fossett cooked for Jefferson for over two decades and oversaw the creation of the food for which Monticello became famous. She and her husband, enslaved blacksmith Joseph Fossett, were born at Monticello, raised their own children there, and, after many years, were able to unite most of their family in freedom. Guides Kyle Chattleton and Alice Wagner tell their story.

For the holiday season, Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton dispels a myth involving Benjamin Franklin and dives into the more complicated history surrounding it.

Monticello guide Danna Kelley introduces us to Margaret Bayard Smith — writer, biographer, Washington socialite, political influencer, and friend of Thomas Jefferson. Smith's life closely aligned with the idea of Republican Motherhood, with its expanded opportunities for women's education, while also still placing limitations on how women could behave. She nevertheless fought against these limitations in her own way, and found Washington, D.C. to be a place where women were more equal to their male counterparts.

Throughout his life, Thomas Jefferson argued that knowledge was power. Many, however, have faced challenges in receiving an education in this country since its founding. For the holiday season, this podcast episode focuses on a few stories about individuals who strove to access and share with others the gift of education.

Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton shares the story of one of the most memorable original objects found at Monticello, the polygraph. A copy machine from the early nineteenth century, Thomas Jefferson called it, “the finest invention of the present age,” and used it to write thousands of letters during the last twenty years of his life.

Everyone knows the Lewis and Clark Expedition. But it wasn't the first expedition to explore the American West that Jefferson promoted or devised. And it wasn't the last. This week, Monticello guides Olivia Brown and Mikey Amos look at those other, often ill-fated explorations.

Thomas Jefferson’s historic home has hosted numerous visitors over the centuries. In this episode, Monticello guide Sam Riggs shares the story of George Ticknor’s 1815 visit. While Ticknor was not especially famous when he traveled to Monticello, his later writings about his trip have become an invaluable resource for historians eager to learn more about the Monticello home during Jefferson’s retirement years.

"This place we have named Fort Mandan in honour of our Neighbours," wrote Meriwether Lewis. In this podcast episode, we focus on an important chapter during the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition, and their interactions with the nearby Mandan and Hidatsa communities.

Monticello guide Don McCracken takes us outdoors to the historic gardens of Thomas Jefferson’s home. While the gardens were designed and built for food and pleasure, they also represented ideas replanted from Europe as well as opportunities for education, and made only possible by enslaved labor.

For many Americans, the name Sacajawea brings to mind thoughts of exploration and discovery. Monticello's Olivia Brown looks at the myths and realities of the life of this famous Native American woman who played an unlikely but critical role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton discusses one of the most memorable objects at Monticello today — the fossilized remains of an American mastodon. During his retirement years, Thomas Jefferson converted the entrance hall of his home into a private museum, and shared items such as these with his visitors in the hope of sharing knowledge and instilling national pride.

During the early years of the United States, the country faced significant challenges involving foreign powers. One of the most concerning was the impressment of American citizens into British naval service. Thomas Jefferson believed it could lead to war.

While Monticello was Thomas Jefferson’s “little mountain,” the nearby Montalto, which Jefferson also acquired, has its own story. Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton shares Jefferson’s different visions for this mountain, including the construction of an observatory and an elaborate series of waterfalls.

In October 1825, artist John Browere came to Monticello to cast a life mask of Thomas Jefferson. What transpired was written about by members of the Jefferson-Randolph family, members of Monticello’s enslaved community, and was even published in national newspapers.

Monticello guide Holly Haliniewski shares the story of one of America’s most famous rivalries. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson played instrumental roles in the creation of America, and had completely different visions for the future of the country. But while a lot of recent attention has been paid to their disagreements, an object found at Monticello today might point to a deeper level of respect between the two.

One scholar writes, "In another moment of history, they might never have met." For today's episode, we examine the brief, yet important relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, who came from two different worlds and generations, yet helped forge a new nation together.

Thomas Jefferson’s designs for Monticello and other structures have had a lasting impact on American architecture. In this episode, Monticello guide Don McCracken shares the story of how Monticello came to be, both as an idea and as a physical building, and how it serves as an example of what scholars call “Jeffersonian Architecture.”

Thomas Jefferson was not only a law mentor and political ally to James Monroe, but eventually his Albemarle County neighbor. The two men were friends for many years and their political careers aligned in many ways. Current Monticello and former Highland guides Olivia Brown, Alice Wagner, Ariel Armenta, and Richard Ferguson, explore that history in this episode.

In our last episode, we focused on the more influential aspects of Jefferson’s architecture. But in a conversation like that we can miss out on other details. Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton shares with us how the nooks and crannies of the third floor of Jefferson’s home can point to smaller, yet still memorable stories.

The American Revolution and her husband's career brought Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson together. In time she grew to enjoy "Mr Jeffersons Society." Yet politics would drive them apart for years, only to rekindle their friendship. Today we will explore the story of, in Jefferson's words, "one of the most estimable characters on earth."

Monticello guide Ashley Hollinshead shares the stories of those enslaved by Thomas Jefferson who worked in the fields of the Monticello plantation. Jefferson’s Farm Book lists dozens of enslaved families who lived and labored at Monticello, and much work has been done over the past few decades to uncover, sometimes literally, their lives and stories.

Thomas Jefferson had a long friendship with Dr. Benjamin Rush, a fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the early United States’ most well-known physicians. The love of science the two men shared was often part of their correspondence, but they shared many other parts of their lives as well and it was Rush who eventually led the famed reconciliation between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams later in their lives.

Trained at the President's House in Washington, D.C., enslaved chef Edith Fossett cooked for Jefferson for over two decades and oversaw the creation of the food for which Monticello became famous. She and her husband, enslaved blacksmith Joseph Fossett, were born at Monticello, raised their own children there, and, after many years, were able to unite most of their family in freedom. Guides Kyle Chattleton and Alice Wagner tell their story.

Smallpox was once a terrible and deadly disease. It affected communities across the globe, but when Jefferson was alive there were known ways to combat it. For today's episode, we track the course of smallpox and the development of inoculation in early American history.

Chess, dominoes, running races, and “royal” games of Goose — these were among the many different games played at Monticello during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton shares a few stories of entertainment from Monticello’s past.

The story of David Isaacs, Nancy West, and their family is one that brings together aspects of Virginia’s Jewish history, Black history, and the history of Monticello. Learn more about the challenges of interracial relationships and how this family navigated the color line and the laws that restricted them.

Americans today celebrate July 4th as the birthday of the country, but how about in 1776? In this episode, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton presents a belated holiday episode to reflect on how slowly news of independence spread in July of 1776, and how John Adams thought our parades and fireworks would fall on July 2nd.

For hundreds of years, large fossilized bones have been unearthed in Kentucky, just south of the Ohio River. Some of these bones eventually made it Monticello. Listen to learn how.

Eclipses come and go, but these marvels of nature always draw attention from astronomers — both professional and amateur — across the globe. In this episode, Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton explores the stories of two eclipses that occurred during Thomas Jefferson's lifetime, and how both point to his pursuit of scientific knowledge.

During the summer of 1805, a young man yearned for freedom. For today's episode of Mountaintop History, we focus on the story of James Hubbard and how he resisted slavery at Monticello.

Throughout his lifetime, Thomas Jefferson acquired thousands of books for his own personal collection. The majority of his books, however, would not stay by his side forever. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton shares the story of how Jefferson's collection helped restart the Library of Congress.

Join us as we dive into a famous rivalry and a legendary expression of distrust, questioned honor, and violence from United States history.

Over the centuries, Monticello has seen millions of people, but history also shows us that Monticello has been the home of sheep, horses, shepherd dogs, deer, mockingbirds, and many others. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton shares a few stories of the diverse animals who once, and still, populate this historic site.

Members of Monticello’s enslaved community were constantly fighting for freedom. Learn more about how they were involved in the Underground Railroad and attempts at helping others reach freedom in the northern states.

From his time as a young adult to his final years, Thomas Jefferson enjoyed the company of a fine glass of wine. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton explores Jefferson's life-long enthusiasm for the beverage, as well as his hopes that wine would become more popular among his fellow citizens.

In this episode, we explore the relationship between John Locke's philosophical arguments and the American Revolution, specifically how Locke influenced the ideas of the Declaration of Independence.

The Election of 1800 famously torched (for a time) the friendship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Adams’ son, John Quincy Adams, however, continued to attend dinners at the President’s House during Jefferson’s tenure. That said, John Quincy Adams wasn’t always impressed by his host and his penchant for hyperbole. In this episode of our shorter podcast series, Mountaintop History, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton shares some of Quincy Adams' own reflections on dining with the President.

In this episode of Mountaintop History, we explore the global legacy of the Declaration of American Independence and the many other declarations written since 1776.

The Monticello Entrance Hall houses a number of historical maps depicting states, countries, and continents. Each one tells a story about what was once known about the world and by whom. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton shares some of this history.

Have you ever wondered if your favorite books were the same as Thomas Jefferson’s? He had a passion for education and a love of books and reading throughout his entire life. In this episode, we explore what type of books he had and what some of his favorites may have been. Monticello Guide Olivia Brown and joined by Monticello’s Fiske and Marie Kimball Librarian, Endrina Tay to learn more.

In certain ways, Jupiter Evans's story paralleled that of Thomas Jefferson's. But Evans was enslaved by Jefferson, and the realities of slavery highlighted the many ways in which their lives diverged. Brandon Dillard, Manager of Historic Interpretation at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, joins Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton in a conversation about Jupiter Evans's story.

One was the "constant companion of his solitary and studious hours." He paid for singing lessons for two. And one of them accompanied him to France. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton focuses not on Jefferson's daughters but on his mockingbirds, which were reportedly his favorite pets.

Music played a prominent role at Monticello during the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. Numerous instruments were performed, including an English Guitar gifted to Virginia Randolph Trist, one of Thomas Jefferson's granddaughters. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello Guide shares the story of this instrument and what it can tell us about music in the Jefferson household.

Thomas Jefferson was a lifelong lover of horses and owned many horses throughout his own life. He used horseback riding as a way to contemplate, exercise, and explore. Learn more about Jefferson’s "passion" for a good horse and about a few of the horses who lived in Monticello’s stables.