Historians In Awe Over Discovery At Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Property

Understanding The Original Monticello

bluffton.edu

In 2017, while working on The Mountaintop Project at the mansion, discoveries were made in the South Pavilion and South Wing of the mansion. These archeologists were excavating in an attempt to better understand the changes of design and use of spaces of the original Monticello.

The South Pavilion was completed in 1770 with Jefferson’s original living quarters on the top floor and the original kitchen on the bottom. A wing, known as the South Wing that connected the Pavilion to the mansion was built and completed in 1809. By this time, Jefferson had moved to the main mansion, and after its completion, the original kitchen was then filled with dirt in order for the floor to match the level of the newly added wing.