- Montpelior -
Home of James and Dolley Madison
Orange, Virginia
James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" and America's 4th President, inherited this house from his father. Or, to be more precise, he inherited a portion of it - it wasn't always as large as it is today. The original core of the building was constructed in 1764, and was shaped like a simple cube; at that time, it was the largest brick residence in the area, but was relatively modest compared to what it would become later when James expanded the center of the home, introduced the classical portico, and added the single-story wings on each side. After Dolley Madison sold the property in 1844, later owners altered the building significantly in still other ways, but an effort began in 2003 to restore the structure to its previous appearance during the years of James Madison's presidency in the early 1800's.
I managed to capture the building late in the day, just after the clearing of a storm - with dark clouds still lingering for a dramatic backdrop, the house came to life in the light of the setting sun:
Madison was shy and reserved, but a man of tremendous intellect. He authored the Bill of Rights, and was the most influential contributor to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where his proposals formed the foundation of the United States Constitution. In order to assemble a new and unique constitution that would hold the nation together while balancing the weight of individual, state and national interests, he studied the structure and history of governments ancient and new, contemplating their strengths and weaknesses and the causes of their failures. Most of his thought and research on these matters occurred here at Montpelior, where one room of the house was filled with his books, stacked in piles so high that he was completely concealed from view when sitting on the floor - apparently, a common place to find him while reading.
Above: behind the house, life-size bronze statues represent James and Dolley. He was a man of remarkably slight stature, standing 5' 6" and weighing only 100 pounds. Dolley called him "the great little Madison."
Below, the back of the house:
Of the three front doors that exist today, the one on the right was the only door to the original building constructed by Madison's father in 1764. A later expansion of the house introduced the door on the left as the entrance to an entirely separate living space for other family members. The central door with its fanlight window did not appear until a final phase of expansion during Madison's presidency, when the separate living spaces of the interior were joined into a single unit.
Madison's "Temple," which he added to the north lawn around 1810. The structure was intended to be a quiet place for contemplative thought, but it also concealed an ice house in a 24-foot deep pit below. In the winter, blocks of ice were cut from nearby ponds and stored in the ice house, where the ice was preserved through the summer, allowing the Madisons to enjoy the luxury of cool drinks and ice cream during the hottest months of the year.
The Madison grave monuments. Guess which one belongs to James, and which to Dolley? Just a little bit of overshadowing going on here, although it's well known that Dolley's bright personality, social skills and political intuition were just as essential to the success of James' career as his own reserved and quiet genius - a fact which he would have been the first to acknowledge. Theirs was an immensely successful and warm marriage and political partnership.
Madison had an appreciation for the beauty of forests, and felt strongly that they should be preserved on his property wherever possible. Today, an old-growth stand of giant Tulip Poplars and Oaks still exists here, known as the James Madison Landmark Forest. Here and elsewhere, the estate offers many walking paths through an exceptionally scenic property - the remaining photos depict the surrounding landscape as I found it during my departure at nightfall.
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