Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Monticello

Location: 931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Phone:  (434) 984-9800

Website: https://www.monticello.org/

Hours: Open every day of the year except Christmas; Hours vary by season – in the winter, hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekdays; Spring and Summer hours are 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Ticket Price: https://www.monticello.org/site/tickets-and-tours

Adults:  $28  ($25 with online discount) Mar - Oct

Adults:  $22  ($20 with online discount) Nov - Feb 

Children: $9   5—11    Year round (under 5 are free)

Homeschool discount? On most day, no. Monticello hosts an annual Home Educators’ Day each September. It will be 9/27 for 2017. Tickets are:

$15 Adults

$6 Students Ages 5 & Up

Free for Children 4 & Under

Visited: Tuesday, 2/17/17, 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

The visitor's center is at the bottom of the hill near the parking area. Here, you'll find ticketing (if you haven't already bought your tickets online), a wonderful cafe full of fresh breakfast and lunch items, a gift shop, and a theater. A short film can be viewed here that runs every 20 minutes. 

It introduces Jefferson and his life at Monticello. A shuttle is available to take visitors from this area to the main grounds at the top of the hill.

We purchased tickets for the "Behind the Scenes" tour and it was well worth it. In the past we’d only done the regular house tour and it focused mostly on Jefferson (which is good), but the behind the scenes tour provided much more insight into the family as well as day-to-day life at Monticello. It’s the only president’s home to be a UN World Heritage Site. Before going, you can download two free apps – one for Monticello and the grounds, and one for Slavery at Monticello. ½ million people visit and tour the house each year.

The main floor was undergoing renovations. Sally Hemmings’ room was being recreated as well.

Photography is not allowed inside the home due to the fact that most of the furnishings are on loan and permission has not been given to photograph, but you can take photos on the grounds. On the behind the scenes tour, we got to visit the second and third floors. The stairwells are very steep and narrow. The second floor lighting is provided by windows that start at the floor (so from the outside they appear to be one long window – 1^st floor and 2^nd floor). The third floor rooms’ light is provided by skylights. The dome room is the only interior room that allows photos – it had no furnishings.

Photography is also allowed in the cellar, where several hands-on activities can be found.

Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was Governer of Virginia during the Revolutionary War and after the war, he was minister to France. He was the nation’s first Secretary of State, the 2^nd Vice President, and the 3^rd President. He died in debt and his estate was auctioned off. He is buried in the graveyard below Monticello.

Before you go: download Monticello's mobile apps and review the Families and Teachers page of the website. It's full of great information to help plan a fun family trip, as well as fun pages for kids. 

Historic Hanover Courthouse

Location: 13182 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, VA 23069

Phone: (804) 365-6000

Website: http://www.hanoverhistorical.org/

Hours: Second Tuesday each month: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Ticket Price: Free

Homeschool discount? N/A

Visited: Tuesday, 2/14/17, 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

The Historic Hanover Courthouse is the second oldest courthouse in the country (1735) still in use. It can be used for trials if the judge wants, but it’s also used for weddings and other events.

This is where Patrick Henry argued the Parsons cause case in 1763 in which he criticized King George and called him a tyrant who didn't care about the wishes of his subjects. This was one of the first times anyone had publicly criticized the King. The presiding judge in the case was Colonel John Henry, Patrick Henry's father.

Back then Anglican church was part of the state, run by the government. The clergy was paid with tobacco. The price of tobacco had fallen due to poor crop performance, so the clergy sued for more money. This case and Patrick Henry's arguments are considered by many historians to be one of the prelude events leading up to the American Revolution.

The stone floor of the porch is original to Patrick Henry's time, all else was built later.

Each summer, a reenactment of Parsons Cause is performed in the courthouse. Other historical presentations are made as well. Details can be found at: http://www.parsonscause.org/home.html

The adjacent Old Stone Jail was built in 1835.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Location: 1732 Popes Creek Road, Colonial Beach, VA 22443
Phone: (804) 224-1732 x227
Website: https://www.nps.gov/gewa/index.htm
Hours: The park is open seven days a week from 9:00-5:00. The park will be closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Ticket Price: Free
Homeschool discount? N/A
Visited: Friday, 2/3/17, 11:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

The George Washington Birthplace National Monument is in Westmoreland County on Popes Creek, just off the Potomac River. It isn't far from Westmoreland State Park.

The site was originally established in the 17th century as a colonial plantation by John Washington, George Washington's great-grandfather. George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 and lived there until age three, returning later to live there as a teenager. The grounds are now maintained and operated by the National Park Service.

When driving in, we came upon a roundabout with a one tenth scale replica of the Washington Monument (55 feet tall vs 550 feet tall). Turn to the right to go to the Visitor’s Center and historic area.

We started in the Visitor’s Center and grabbed a copy of the Junior Ranger Handbook for this site. It’s filled with on-site activities for ages 5 – 12. At the end of your visit, if all the activities have been completed, your child will be “sworn in” as a Junior Ranger and will receive a super cool patch and pin.

The Visitor’s Center also has a 14-minute movie that provides some background for the site.
We then walked to the historic area. Most of the tour is self-led, but the Memorial House has guided tours.

We visited on a slower day and tours were offered each hour on the hour. In the historic area, we were able to visit pigs, horses, and sheep, who were all surprisingly friendly.

The sheep were out roaming the grounds and most kept their distance, but the resident ram came up to us and let us pet him and touch his horns.

These sheep are Hog Island Sheep, a breed that is preserved by various organizations because of its relevance to American history and its resemblance to historical American sheep.

There were many lambs and their moms roaming, and the little lambs were very playful and enjoyed jumping around a couple of mulch piles.

The site has been set up as a mid-sized working tobacco plantation would have been in Colonial Virginia.

The workshop, barn, weaving room, and memorial house have all been placed where they might have been located when George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, but the colonial kitchen building was built in its original place.

Two artifacts original to the Washington family can be found in the Memorial House – a glass wine bottle and a tea table.

The actual home where Washington was born burned on Christmas Day, 1779. The Memorial House was built in 1931 and represents a typical upper-class colonial house. However, it’s probably larger and finer than the actual house in which he was born.

In 1936, the original home’s foundation was excavated and outlined with oyster shells. The outline is visible today so that visitors can see where the actual house was located. Washington lived at this site until he was nearly 4, but he still spent periods of time there throughout his life.

A short drive from the visitor’s center will take you to the Washington family graveyard. 32 burials have been found there, including Washington’s half-brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Adjacent to that you’ll find a sandy beach on the Potomac River.

In the distance you can see the Potomac River bridge for Route 301. You can occasionally see shark’s teeth on the beach, but it’s illegal to collect them from National Park Service property.