Monticello Podcasts

In the midst of the election of 1800, presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson wrote a very personal and intriguing document where he asks himself what if any value he has offered to his country through public service. In this podcast, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton speaks with fellow Guide and House Tour Supervisor Danna Kelley about this document and Jefferson's answer to his own question.

The Monticello mountaintop has seen many trees over the centuries. But there were two trees in particular that greeted visitors at Monticello for hundreds of years. On this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton tells the story of Monticello's pair of tulip poplars.

Diplomatic protocol. These days it’s all written down and governed by rules and long-standing conventions. But in 1801, when he became President, Jefferson wondered whether the new Republican system of government didn't call for a new more democratic model of diplomatic behavior. Monticello's Gaye Wilson -- with help from Monticello guide Dianne Pierce and Monticello Teacher Institute participant...

Since 1997, Monticello's archaeologists have identified over twenty previously unrecorded plantation sites. In this interview conducted in 2005, Sara Bon-Harper, then-Archaeological Research Manager at Monticello, explains how archaeological sites are identified and describes discoveries at Site 8, a settlement of slaves active from the 1770s to the 1790s.

The Hamilton musical has helped popularize early American history, and one of the most famous numbers from the musical details a compromise between Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton talks about "The Room Where It Happens" and the "Compromise of 1790."

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the third and fourth Presidents of the United States, were close friends and a powerful political team. Both played instrumental roles in the shaping of America. But, at times, they also disagreed with one another’s vision for the future of the country. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello Guides Kyle Chattleton and Alice Wagner have a conversation...

In 1781, Virginian Jack Jouett made a famous ride toward Monticello and Charlottesville to warn of impending British forces and potential political disaster, leading him to be known as the "Paul Revere of the South." Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton shares the story of Jouett's ride in this episode of Mountaintop History.

He painted George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, as well as the kings of England and France; was known to take months and years before finishing a portrait; and his works can be seen in museums across the globe. His name was Gilbert Stuart, and there’s a good chance you have seen his work before. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton shares the story of Gilbert...

Franklin wore 'em. And you may not know it, but Jefferson did, too. In this rebroadcast of one of our earliest episodes, radio producer Sean Tubbs (of the Charlottesville Podcast Network) interviews scholar Katherine Stebbins McCaffrey who came to the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies to study Jefferson's interest in eyeglasses as part of larger look at the history of spec...

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...

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.

In late May 1806, three of Richmond’s best doctors rushed to the home of George Wythe—a prominent judge, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Thomas Jefferson’s long-time mentor and dear friend. The physicians discovered Wythe bedridden, in agonizing pain. The cause? Poison. The likely culprit? Wythe’s own nephew. In this latest episode of our “In the Course of Human Events” podcast, Mon...

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.

While the election of 1800 ended (for a time) the friendship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, a son, John Quincy Adams, still attended dinners at the President's House with Jefferson; he wasn't always impressed by his host. In this episode of Mountaintop History, Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton shares some of Quincy Adams's own reflections on dining with the President.

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.

Before photography, when portrait painting remained expensive but technology was changing how people saw the world, silhouettes – the shadow-like images created from projections and paper – were having a moment. A craze, in fact. Affordable, reproducible, and surprisingly faithful, silhouettes served as valued reminders of friends, family, and loved ones, and Jefferson displayed several at Montice...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 reti...

In 1924 Monticello’s new owners began the process of restoring the gardens Jefferson had designed for his mountaintop home. But after a century of differing uses—and sometimes outright neglect—by various owners and caretakers, very little evidence remained of Jefferson’s original plans and plantings. It was a daunting task, and it could have ended quite differently were it not for the perseverance...

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.

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.

Marie Frank, a former fellow at Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, looks at the deep contributions Fiske and Marie Kimball made to arts and culture in the early- and mid-20th Century, which include the directing the first scholarship-based restoration of Monticello. Professor Frank is the organizer of a virtual conference about the Kimballs on March 20, 2021.