Construction Begins at Monticello 1768

By May 15, 1768, at the age of twenty-five, Thomas Jefferson had contracted to level the 250-foot square area of the already gentle top of the 987-foot high mountain, for the main dwelling at Monticello. By the end of 1768, the Monticello mountaintop was cleared, leveled, and ready for construction.  Beginning in 1769, the first bricks were being made on the premises, and the vegetable gardens were being designed.  

Within the year, local white masons and their apprentices, carpenters, as well as several Monticello slaves, had begun construction of the structure Thomas Jefferson used as his office, later known as the Honeymoon Cottage or the South Pavilion at Monticello. 

On November 26, 1770, Thomas Jefferson moved into the South Pavilion, as a result of the devastating Shadwell house fire, which took his family home on February 1, 1770.  In a letter written to his friend, James Ogilvie, in 1771, Thomas Jefferson wrote, 

"I have lately removed to the mountain...I have here but one room which, like the cobbler', serves me for parlour, for kitchen, and hall.  I may add, for bed chamber and study too.  My friends sometimes take a temperate dinner with me and then retire to look for beds elsewhere.  I have hope, however, of getting more elbow room this summer."

This allowed Jefferson to continue to oversee construction of the main house and gardens.

Monticello's West Lawn, which features the "nickel view" of Thomas Jefferson's home, is an icon of American landscape. The winding walk defines the perimeter of the leveled, oval-shaped West Lawn. The smooth-level lawn was a favorite playground for Jefferson's children and grandchildren, although the earliest images of the West Front of Monticello reveal a weedy, disheveled surface. The  lawn was probably scythed once or twice a year and its appearance inevitably reflected the pre-lawn mower technology of the early 19th century.

Today, Monticello is maintained and operated by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and they do an exquisite job landscaping the entire property.  It is something you must experience for yourself.  

If you have not yet added Monticello to your bucket list, I highly recommend a visit to the home of Charlottesville's iconic founding father. Charlottesville, Virginia, is a National Award Winning City.

(Portions of my blog were borrowed from the Monticello Blog, Thomas Jefferson Foundation. The rest is taken from the award-winning book, Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man by Jayne D'Alessandro-Cox)

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Read about Jefferson's first 31 years of life in Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man: 

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