Montpelier

About 30 minutes from Monticello, James Madison's Montpelier is still a work-in-progress by historians.  In fact, our tour guide told anyone who had visited more than 6 months previously that they would see a good amount of new items and preservation work that had been completed.

 Unlike Monticello which is at the top of a mountain, Montpelier is situated in rolling hills.

 

After the tour, we had some fun posing with the statue of James and Dolley Madison.

Madison was the last of the Founding Fathers at his death in 1836.  He died on June 28, 6 days short of July 4th which was the day three of the other Founding Fathers passed away (weird, huh?):

• Thomas Jefferson - July 4, 1826
• John Adams - July 4, 1826
• James Monroe - July 4, 1831

Our guide told us that Madison's doctor wanted to provide medication that would hopefully extend Madison's life until July 4th, but that he had refused treatment.

And there you have it - two more tours of presidential homes to add to our list which already included George Washington's Mount Vernon.  In a family poll, J, A, and A's dad would all choose to live at Mount Vernon while A's mom would choose to live at Montpelier.  Sorry, T.J. - no votes for Monticello.

Perhaps it was the weird bed nooks you built.