This page is from an archival copy of the first Web publication on Staunton, Virginia, posted June/July, 1994, and is presented here for historical purposes only, and as it was then. For up-to-date information, please look elsewhere in The Staunton Marketplace or on the Internet.
Often described as one of our country's foremost architectural masterpieces, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello remains today a testimony to its creator's ingenuity and breadth of interests. Located on a mountaintop in Albemarle County, the house commands a view of the rolling Virginia countryside that Jefferson so dearly loved. It was here that he retreated from the pressures of public office, having served as Governor of Virginia, Minister to the Court of Louis XVI of France, Secretary of State, Vice President, and ultimately the third President of the United States.
Today Monticello is owned and operated by the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization formed in 1923 to purchase, preserve and maintain Monticello as a national monument to Thomas Jefferson.
Monticello is located approximately 45 miles from Staunton on Route 53, just off of I-64, three miles southeast of Charlottesville. Guided tours are offered daily except Christmas from 8 AM to 5 PM. Winter hours are 9 AM to 4:30 PM from November 1 through February 28. The "Thomas Jefferson at Monticello" exhibition is open daily from 9 AM to 5:30 PM. Winter hours are 9 AM to 5 PM. Hours and rates are subject to change without notice. Save on adult admission to Charlottesville's historic attractions by purchasing the Presidents' Pass discount combination ticket, available at the Thomas Jefferson Visitors Center. For further information or group arrangements, write the Development and Public Affairs Department, Monticello, Box 316, Charlottesville, VA 22902, or call (804) 295-8181 or 295 2657.