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It’s been said that behind every great man is a woman. In James Madison’s case, that fabulous woman was Dolley Madison. This Thursday, May 20, marks Dolley Madison’s 242nd birthday. Montpelier will celebrate with free cake in the Visitor Center, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Also, if you were born on May 20, Thursday is your lucky day because your admission to Montpelier will be free.
Now, let’s talk about just who Dolley Madison was. In her time, she was the most popular person in the country. What made her so famous?
The short answer is Dolley Madison was Washington’s first female power player. Her famous “squeezes” (very popular parties) helped political adversaries broker civil compromises in a social setting. She also showed extraordinary courage. When the British invaded Washington in 1814, she rescued George Washington’s portrait, with the help of her slave Paul Jennings, just before the White House burned. Continue Reading…
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
On the winding roads of Route 20 in Orange County, Virginia stands a century-old train depot, home to the local Montpelier Station, Virginia post office. On February 21, 2010, it became the home of James Madison’s Montpelier’s newest exhibit— The Montpelier Train Depot: In the Time of Segregation.
More than 200 people attended the February 21 opening. Emmy-award-winning journalist Juan Williams addressed the crowd. “This is a place of power…this is a place of life.…This is a place of teaching. This is a place of healing. This is a place of understanding. This is a place that can help us in terms of imagination…help understand what took place here… in terms of how we see each other across racial lines,” said Williams.
Workers laid the first tracks for the railroad line that runs past the Depot circa 1880. This was a time when trains were the fastest way to get anywhere, for both freight and passengers. In 1910, William duPont, owner of Montpelier, built the Depot to upgrade passenger and freight service. The Depot was constructed using plans from Southern Railway, with two waiting rooms – one for “white” passengers and one for “colored” passengers. Segregation was required by Virginia law. Continue Reading…
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago. 1 comment
The past two weeks at Montpelier have been very busy. We are putting the final touches on our newest exhibit, The Montpelier Train Depot: In the Time of Segregation. Emmy-award winning journalist and NPR and Fox News analyst Juan Williams will join us to open the new exhibit at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 21. A Reception and lectures by Peter Wallenstein, Professor of History, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; and C. Thomas Chapman, James Madison’s Montpelier Research Coordinator will follow.
The Montpelier Train Depot: In the Time of Segregation will use the authentically restored 1910-era building to teach the public about the “Jim Crow” period of segregation in the space where it was practiced. The old segregated “colored” and “white” waiting rooms will show the reality of racism that African-American travelers confronted during this period, and let visitors examine first-hand the fallacy of the notion of “separate but equal.”
The Montpelier Train Depot will be dedicated in memory of Russell Coffin Childs, former Montpelier special projects director. It was Mr. Childs’ vision to restore the Montpelier Train Depot. Thanks to his dedication, the Montpelier Train Depot will forever be a place to educate future generations about the reality of segregation, its consequences for society, and the strength of our constitutional form of government which accommodates peaceful change.
Admission to the opening is free. Admission to the lectures and reception is $30 per person for members of the general public; $10 for Friends of Montpelier and members of the Orange County African American Historical Society. Please call (540) 672-2728 x200 or e-mail ssimpson@montpelier.org for reservations.
Stay tuned for our next post in which we will take a brief look at the history of the Montpelier Train Depot.
Posted 6 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
Today when we think of Christmas, we think of Christmas trees in houses and town squares, carolers in the snow, and houses decorated with lights and bows. The season of Christmas is a visual feast everywhere you look. At this time of year, visitors often ask our guides how Montpelier would have looked during the Christmas season two centuries ago. The answer is a bit surprising.
Christmas, both the day and the season, was celebrated differently in the Madisons’ time. Many of the Christmas customs we know today did not become popular until the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th; other Christmas traditions were introduced when the Madisons were in retirement. Santa Claus comes from German and Dutch traditions, and St. Nick made his first appearance on a wider stage in America in Washington Irving’s History of New York, published in 1809. The first record we have of a Christmas tree in Virginia isn’t until 1842, in a house in Williamsburg. What, then, was Christmas like for the Madisons?
Christmas in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was a time for visiting family and friends, hosting or attending large parties, balls, and dinners. In early December 1834, Dolley wrote to her niece Mary with news about what the family members at Montpelier were doing: “Anna & her sisters have gone to a dancing part at Newman’s – they are to keep the Christmas from this time to New Years day.” [note: Dolley Payne Todd Madison to Mary Estelle Elizabeth Cutts, December 11, 1834, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.] Little more than a year later, a friend writing from Richmond told Dolley that everyone there was still “feasting, dancing & making merry,” despite the cholera epidemic in the city.1 Continue Reading…
Posted 8 months, 2 weeks ago. 1 comment
The holidays are a time to welcome family and friends home and enjoy your favorite traditions. Here at Montpelier, we are getting ready to welcome back some of our good friends from the 3rd Regiment of the Army of Northern Virginia. The reenactors will visit Montpelier for a Christmas Civil War Living History on December 5 and 6. 
Montpelier and the 3rd Regiment of the Army of Northern Virginia have a strong partnership. The regiment is currently working to rebuild some of the huts at the Montpelier Civil War Encampment Site. General Samuel McGowan’s South Carolinians occupied the site during the winter of 1863-64. The reenactors also visited Montpelier this past summer for Civil War Weekend. Continue Reading…
Posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
Fall ushers in a lot of exciting changes at Montpelier. The humidity diminishes, offering a stunning view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the front portico. The change in foliage frames the mansion in a myriad of colors seen only once a year. School is back in session, which means we welcome lots of student groups. As the first weekend of November approaches, excitement builds in anticipation of the Running of the Montpelier Hunt Races. This year’s Races will take place on November 7.
Marion duPont Scott founded the Hunt Races at Montpelier in 1934. Seventy-five years later, the Montpelier Hunt Races remain a beloved tradition in Orange County.
Mrs. Scott was an accomplished horsewoman. She and her brother, William duPont, Jr., created many of the nation’s best-known steeplechase and flat racing venues, including: Delaware Park, the Fair Hill Natural Resources Area, and Camden Race Course.
Continue Reading…
Posted 10 months, 4 weeks ago. Add a comment
