Things You'll Need:
- Good walking shoes
- Light jacket
- Insect repellent
- Sunscreen
- Water
- Camera
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Step 1
Stop at the visitor center and pay the nominal fee to tour the estate and grounds. There is also a gift shop and a gallery dedicated to the estate's more recent owners, the DuPont family.
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Step 2
View the 20-minute film on the life of James and Dolley Madison as well as the history of the estate. The estate was a working plantation, and it was here that Madison drafted an early version of United States Constitution. The film also describes his political partnership with Thomas Jefferson, who lived nearby at Monticello, Va.
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Step 3
Walk along Madison Road for a mere hundred yards or so. Wait at the estate's entrance for the next available tour. A docent will offer insightful information as he leads the visitor through the two floors of the home. As of this writing, the home is in the process of being returned to the original state of when the Madisons were residents; therefore, it is more of an ongoing archaeological site than a vintage 18th century estate. Researchers are identifying specific rooms, matching color and wallpaper schemes, and determining furniture location.
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Step 4
Exit onto the roof of the mansion's west wing. From this perspective, one can see the Landmark Forest and site of slave quarters. The cemetery also is visible to the northwest.
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Step 5
Examine both kitchen cellars located below the wings. At one time the house served as a duplex requiring two kitchen schedules. Servants carried the meals upstairs based on specific meal times.
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Step 6
Examine the storage cellars located directly below the house. The sound structure of this mansion, well over 200 years old, is well worth the inspection.
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Step 7
Visit the archaeological lab where volunteers painstakingly work to clean unearthed tools, bones and ceramic pieces, among other artifacts. Children are encouraged to uncover their own Montpelier treasure in a sandbox on the lab's porch.
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Step 8
Visit a hands-on tent where staff prepare meals from the time period or allow visitors to work with woodworking tools. Children are fascinated by these exhibits.
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Step 9
Walk through the Annie DuPont Formal Garden. Dated much later than when the Madison family lived on the estate, nevertheless, this classic English garden is beautifully designed, with trimmed hedges and brightly colored flowers.
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Step 10
Walk down past the visitor center to the Madison family cemetery and view the two obelisks that mark the graves of James and Dolley Madison.
