A Day at Montpelier — To Make Much of Time

Montpelier | Charlottesville | James Madison | To Make Much of Time

UPDATED: 2/4/2023

Note: Some links throughout our site are affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

As part of our spring weekend getaway to Charlottesville, which you can read more about here , on a Saturday, we headed north to Orange County to visit Montpelier, James Madison’s home, located in beautiful, rolling countryside. The home was James and Dolley’s respite from the political life, is where Madison returned after his time as president in Washington (1809-1817), and ultimately where Madison drew his last breaths in 1836 at the age of 85. We bought our tickets online in advance, for a slight savings, and selected our entry time. Tours leave shortly before their start time to walk from the visitors center to the home itself. We were running a few minutes behind and so had the choice of either running to catch our tour or waiting until the next one. The woman working at the visitor center was very helpful in swapping our tickets out for the next entry time. I guess we’re always that person sometimes!

To kill time, we wandered through the gift shop and the small museum space that highlighted, in particular, the years of Montpelier where it was the home of the DuPont family. That story is part of what makes Montpelier unique compared to some other historical homes. It has gone through a major, lengthy renovation to take it back to a realistic, historically accurate version of the house when the Madisons lived there after the DuPont family had greatly altered the home. You can read a bit more of the house’s renovation history here.

I had visited Montpelier once before, sometime around 2000 or 2001, also with my mom. At that time, the renovation was in mid-process, entire rooms where taken down to their laths. I was really curious to see it now, when then renovation is much further along and the house is close to what historians and architects believe it held during the former president’s tenure.

There is just something about brick and wrought iron.

We took the main 1-hour “Signature Tour” with a very knowledgeable docent that brought the personality, life, and times of James Madison to us in a vibrant way. The the inside of the home was completely different from when we’d last visited so anyone else who hasn’t gone in years would definitely find a changed experience.

After entering through the massive veranda and front door, we visited both the main and upstairs levels of the home. The rooms have period-appropriate furniture and paintings, and probably my favorite room - as is often the case - the library, which sits on the second floor with sweeping views of the fields extending out the front side of the house.

James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, in addition to being contemporaries, lived only about 20 miles apart, and collaborated on many academic interests and pursuits as well as playing key roles in the founding of the republic. References to Jefferson were interwoven into the tour guide’s explanation of some facets of the home, particularly the artwork and shared love of learning and reading. I think we did our trip in the right order - Monticello first, Montpelier second - but I suppose we may have had the same reaction in reverse had we flipped our itinerary.

After the house tour, we went to the cellar of the house, where The Mere Distinction of Color exhibit is housed. That exhibit opened in the summer of 2017. Montpelier has actively involved descendants of its slave population in telling the story of its enslaved population, a fitting and inclusive decision that (in my opinion) should be the norm at all similar properties where records make that possible.

After the home tour, we headed back to the cafe at the visitor’s center, a short walk along a tree-covered trail, ate lunch on the patio, and then headed back towards the house to check out the self-guided walking tour through Montpelier’s Enslaved Community, featuring re-created homes and other information being uncovered at this active archaeological site. This portion of the property is located right next to the house.

Nearby is the walled garden that remains from the DuPont family’s time as owners of the property. While not in keeping with Madison’s time on the property, it would be a shame for the garden to be torn down, so there it remains. Secretly, I have always wanted a walled garden so if they ever decide to remove it, I would gladly volunteer to be its recipient!

While we were hot after a warm spring day in the sunshine and ready to head for cooler (indoor) climbes, for those who have the time and interest, Montpelier also has a trail system that totals over 8 miles for hiking. You can learn more about that on their site here.