Skip over navigation
Reference Center
Encyclopedia
Dictionary
Thesaurus

Sponsored Links

More Sponsored Links For:

Monticello
Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Monticello
Monticellomŏn′tĭsĕl'ō, –chĕl'ō [Ital.,=little mountain], estate, 640 acres (259 hectares), central Va., near Charlottesville; home of Thomas Jefferson for 56 years. The mansion, which he designed, was begun in 1770 on property inherited from his father. The building materials—stone, brick, lumber, and nails—were prepared on the estate, and most of the construction work was carried out by Jefferson's artisan slaves. By 1772, when Jefferson took his bride there to live, part of the house was ready for occupancy; for many years afterward, he added to the building. The house is one of the earliest examples of the American classic revival. Not long after Jefferson's death, his daughter, unable to maintain the property, sold it, retaining only the family burial plot in which Jefferson is interred. Monticello was later bought by Uriah P. Levy, a naval officer, who bequeathed it to the people of the United States; but his heirs successfully contested the will. By 1879, Jefferson M. Levy was in full ownership, but he sold Monticello in 1923 to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation. Dedicated as a national shrine in 1926, and extensively renovated during the next 30 years, the estate was opened to the public in 1954.

The Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2001-09 Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Wikipedia search results for: Monticello
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monticello, located in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia. The house, which Jefferson himself designed, was based on the neoclassical principles described in the books of the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. It is situated on the summit of an -high peak in the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna Gap. Its name comes from the Italian "little mountain." An image of the west front of Monticello by Felix Schlag has been featured on the reverse of the nickel minted...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Monticello
Results 1 - 6  of 6
  • Arkansas, University of

    Arkansas, University of, mainly at Fayetteville; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1871, opened 1872; called Arkansas Industrial Univ. until 1899. The Univ. of Arkansas ...

  • Charlottesville

    Charlottesville, city (1990 pop. 40,341), seat of Albemarle co., central Va., on the Rivanna River, in a Piedmont farm region known for its apples; founded 1762, chartered as a city 1888. Elec...

  • Kimball, Fiske

    Kimball, Fiske (Sidney Fiske Kimball), 1888–1955, American architect and writer, b. Newton, Mass. He was professor of architecture and fine arts at the Univ. of Michigan (1912–19) and of art a...

  • Longview

    Longview. 1 City (1990 pop. 70,311), seat of Gregg co., E Tex.; inc. 1872. It is a manufacturing, business, and distribution center for the rich East Texas oil field. The city has oil and natu...

  • Palladio, Andrea

    Palladio, Andrea, 1508–80, Italian architect of the Renaissance. Originally a stonemason, he was trained as an architect in Vicenza, and later in Rome he examined the remains of Roman architec...

  • Jefferson, Thomas

    Jefferson, Thomas, 1743–1826, 3d President of the United States (1801–9), author of the Declaration of Independence, and apostle of agrarian democracy. Jefferson was born on Apr. 13, 1743, at ...

Sponsored Links

More Sponsored Links For:

Monticello

Video Results

powered by Truveo
more video »
Toggle Results

Reference Center To Go

Get Dictionary at your fingertips!

Download the Toolbar Now
About This Page | Browse Directory | Tell Us What You Think
© 2009 ReferenceCenter.com. All Rights Reserved.