Monticello is one of the most interesting homes in America because Thomas Jefferson was one of the most original thinkers of his, or any, age.  His home reveals the breath and scope of his interests.

Ex-President Taft said that in Charlottesville, "they still talked of Mr. Jefferson as though he were in the next room."  When you visit Monticello and sense the individuality of its designer, it is easy to feel that Mr. Jefferson is in the next room.

Thomas Jefferson inherited the land on which he built Monticello at his father's death in 1757.  He had played on the mountaintop as a child while growing up at neighboring Shadwell.  Jefferson occasionally took time out from his law studies with George Wythe in Williamsburg and explored his Virginia hilltop, perhaps planning the home that he eventually built.  The year after he finished reading law, 1768, he began to level the top of his 867-foot mountain so that he could begin building. He named his estate "Monticello," or little mountain.  The design, like the name, is Italian.  Jefferson used architectural books to design his house.  He borrowed heavily from the Palladian style popularized by Andrea Palladio.

Like so many of the skills Jefferson acquired, his architectural artistry was self-taught.  He was an enthusiastic innovator in all that he attempted. One of the features that would become a Jeffersonian trademark was the dome he added to his house.  His was the first private house in America to have a dome.  His dome-room is only reached by a pair of narrow staircases, so visitors cannot enjoy an up-close look at this architectural feature.  Jefferson loved domes but disliked obtrusive staircases.

Another innovation was the seven-day clock Jefferson designed for the entrance hall.  Cannonball weights indicated the day of the week.  Saturday's marker is below the hall on the basement level and can be seen in the archeological exhibit area.  Jefferson even designed a special ladder for the weekly winding of the clock.  The hall also boasts antlers brought back by Lewis and Clark from their trip to the far west, as well as mastodon bones that Clark found in Kentucky.

When you tour Monticello you quickly become aware of Jefferson's practical turn of mind.  In the study there is a marvelous device that allowed him to write with one pen while a second connected pen made a copy of the letter.  Jefferson designed his bedroom so that he could have access to his bed from either the bedroom or the sitting room; the bed itself is a room divider.  He also designed beds to fit in alcoves to conserve space.  His practicality extended to other areas of the house.  There is a lazy susan door in the dining room that allowed the kitchen staff to set the prepared dishes on the door shelves and then simply turn the door, fully stocked, for service in the dining room.

Much as Jefferson enjoyed designing, building and embellishing his mountaintop home, his real passion was for horticulture.  Indeed, this great leader, who served as President of the United States, Vice-President, Secretary of State, Minister to France and Governor of Virginia, once said, "I have often thought that if heaven had given me a choice of my position and calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth...and near a good market...No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth..."

The gardens of Monticello are not to be missed.  Visitors should plan their day so that they can include an hour-long escorted tour of the garden, offered daily April through October. Jefferson's creativity certainly extended to his garden.  As he proudly proclaimed, "I am become the most ardent farmer in the state."  In his later years he would say, "Though an old man, I am but a young gardener."

He was 23 years old when he began the garden diary he would keep until two years before his death.  His precise records have enabled the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation to accurately restore the landscape to its appearance following Jefferson's second term as president in 1809.  A grid, drawn by Jefferson in 1778, gives the exact location of 300 trees.  In all, his notes and planting plans indicate the position of 900 trees.  His enthusiasm for fruit trees unquestionably exceeded their usefulness.  Even on his busy estate there weren't enough people to consume the fruit from 300 trees.  Jefferson's orchard was one of the most extensive in America; he planted 122 varieties of ten different types of fruit.