James Monroe's Highland, Part II

A continuation of yesterpost...

A docent lead us around James Monroe's Highland and into the upstairs of the Guest House where we saw some of the original furnishings.

First, we stopped at the archeological site where she described what the original house was like. The first house was rather small. She described it as their "starter house." Larger houses are on the other estates. This one had a nice, cosy feel. It burned down in the 1830s.

Docent with house description

Layout of the house

We walked over to the other side of the Guest House, with only the top floor visible from outside.

Guest entrance to the Guest House

Inside several pieces owned by the Monroes were on display, including several items they brought back from France.

French clock

A lot of furniture from the late 1700s and early 1800s was influenced by the rediscovery of Pompeii, causing a bit of a classical craze. This desk was in an earlier style and has a removable hutch, presumably for ease of transport.

Desk with hutch

The bedroom has a dresser from the Monroes along with an ornately carved bed.

Dress and dresser

Bed

Since Monroe was president after the White House was burned down during the War of 1812, he and his wife did a lot of redecorating in the new presidential mansion. One tradition they started was purchasing their set of Presidential China, which they kept after they left office. Each new president commissions new china with new designs. Modern presidents do not keep the sets--they are in a White House museum or warehouse somewhere (probably right next to the Ark of the Covenant).

Presidential china

I was impressed by a small sculpture of a sculptor sculpting a bust.

A bit meta, as they would say today

The dining room wasn't terribly big but the table did have a leaf-system to make it larger or smaller, depending on the number of guests. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is only two miles away, so the two men often visited each other.

Dining table

In the sitting room is a tea set and a bust of Napoleon. This particular bust was one of twelve hundred commissioned by Napoleon himself and given out at his coronation. Monroe attended the coronation. Of the many busts, only five are still known to be in existence, this being one of the few remaining.

Tea set

Napoleon's door prize for attending his coronation

The docent also talked about the dendrochronology used to identify different parts of the building. By taking small samples of the wood used in construction, scientists can determine when the buildings were constructed.

Massey House (1870s), 1850 addition (1850s), and Guest House (1818)

She said that they plan to move the Massey House at some point so they can do more archeological research on the first house. They will move the building to another part of Highland.

The slave quarters are not far from the house and have a small, square smoke house on the end.

View to the slave quarters and smokehouse

Further back are some livestock exhibits with actual livestock! My youngest son was fascinated by the roosters who crowed even though it wasn't morning.

Rooster and hens

Donkeys were used back in the day as work animals for the farm. Some obligingly walked by for photos.

One donkey

A slightly faster donkey

Since we visited in April, many of the flower gardens were in full bloom, making some very fine smells and sights.

One patch of flowers

The bud just opening

A full bloom

James Monroe's Highland, Part I

James Monroe's Highland is the most consistent home that the fifth President of the United States had. Monroe built the house is 1799 and used it throughout his political career. He held many offices: Governor of Virginia; Ambassador to France, Great Britain, and Spain; and Secretary of State and of War. The main house was built in 1799, though visitors today have to stop first at a modern visitor's center just off the parking lot.

Highland Visitor Center

When we bought tickets to the tour, we discovered a unique opportunity. Included with admission is an "augmented reality" headset. A pair of special glasses and of normal headphones plug into a small pack that identifies where you are on the estate and plays video and audio descriptions of the location along with a lot of historical information.

Augmenting their experience!

Map of the augmented reality tour

The first stop on the AR tour was looking out over fields as the agriculture of the land was discussed. The Monroes mostly grew grain here in the early 1800s. Cotton soon became the dominant cash crop but the local soil and climate were not conducive.

For those without the AR kit

The house garden

The 1980s recreation of the slave quarters has displays on typical guest rooms in addition to the conditions under which the slaves lived. The 1810 census listed 49 slaves at Highland, though Monroe had other properties in Virginia and would move the slaves around depending on what projects were happening where.

Slave quarters

What a guest room would have looked like in early 1800s

A work room for the slaves

Living quarters for the slaves

The oldest building still on the property is actually three separate buildings added together. The original guest house was built in 1818 (on the left in the picture below). An addition was built in the 1850s with a few extra rooms. The yellow house is the Massey House, built in the 1870s by much later owners of the property.

Seeing the three buildings

Guest house with 1850 addition on right

In the basement of the guest house is another small exhibit on slave labor at Highland. The AR did a great job showing the people who were being described.

The kitchen area of the guest house

Candle making equipments

In front of the Massey House is a stone outline of the foundation of the 1799 house. That house burned down in the 1830s. Part of the foundation extends under the Massey House.

Outline of original house

AR looking at the original house

A white oak tree that dates back to the Monroe era

Front view of the Massey House

One of the old mile markers

Down an avenue of shrubbery is a statue of Monroe by Attilio Piccirilli from Venezuela. It's a tribute to the Monroe Doctrine, which committed the United States to opposing any further colonization by European countries in the Americas.

What's down that path?

Monroe looking scholarly

Close up of the statue

As we finished the AR tour, our physical tour began. More on that in the next post.