Monticello at its most iconic: the West Front of the building.

The name Monticello means “little mountain.”  It’s a fitting description – the building sits on the first wave of hills to rise from the Virginia piedmont and offers spectacular views in almost all directions.

The somewhat less iconic East Front of Monticello still displays the building’s carefully constructed sense of order.

Senior Curator Susan Stein says Jefferson often calculated the dimensions in his plans for Monticello to the thousandth of an inch – a level of precision which no workman could ever hope to achieve.

Monticello: the dollhouse. Jefferson’s home has also entered America’s pockets – even if most never realize it – as the image on the back of the nickel.

The design of Monticello may be beautiful, but it’s not always functional.  This staircase to the top floor is too steep and narrow for most tours.

Monticello wasn’t always carefully maintained.  The Dome Room – now restored – was once used for parties by University of Virginia students, who scrawled their names on the wall.

The six large occuli in the dome allowed Jefferson to see for miles in any direction.

Kurt Andersen examines the inside of Monticello’s dome.

Monticello at sunset is idyllic…

…but downhill from the house you’ll find Mulberry Row, where up to 50 slaves lived and worked at a time.

Susan Stein shows Kurt the Jefferson family graveyard at Monticello.

The Jefferson family graveyard has been the site of a recent controversy over who should be allowed burial there.  In 2002, the Monticello Association voted against admitting descendents of Sally Hemings, a slave with whom Jefferson is believed to have had children.

The inscription on Thomas Jefferson’s gravestone: “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia.”