Since I visited James Monroe’s Highland, (home of the fifth U.S. president) earlier this spring, there have been some pretty exciting changes, including the name.
The estate was called Ashlawn-Highland when I was there, but due to some recent archaeological findings, history has been turned on its head and the name along with it!
During our tour, we were told that written records showed James Monroe had updated his fire insurance policy using dimensions of a home that didn’t match those of Ashlawn-Highland. That of course prompted more archaeological digging!
They discovered that the foundation of what was likely the actual James Monroe house was underneath the structure they had always believed was his home (the yellow and white house pictured below). It’s such an exciting twist on the history books!
Incidentally, the estate’s new name reflects the name originally given to it by James Monroe – Highland. So let me tell you what you can expect to see at James Monroe’s Highland now.
A spectacular entrance
The view as you drive into the plantation which Monroe referred to as his “cabin castle” is gorgeous. James Monroe was Thomas Jefferson’s next door neighbor; his property ran right up to Monticello, and although the home was never as grand, the countryside sure was. You’ll want to take time to wander and enjoy the view of those rolling hills.
James Monroe’s Guest House
The building below once thought to be Monroe’s home was actually his guest house, next to which a later addition was built (post-Monroe era). Monroe’s home actually burned down, which is why the foundation is beneath this structure. Pretty exciting history twist in the making!
Historical Outbuildings to Self-tour
Wander through the kitchen, original smokehouse, overseer’s cottage and reconstructed guest quarters.
A 300 Year-old White Oak Tree
It’s often called a witness tree. Imagine all it has seen!
Boxwood Gardens
They’re believed to have been planted after Monroe’s time, but they’re fabulous! I was there in February, so the gardens weren’t in bloom yet. I hope to make it back to see it all in its seasonal glory.
James Monroe’s Statue
It was originally made for Argentina to celebrate the Monroe doctrine, but after a coup of some sort, they gave it back. Look closely and you’ll see he has a missing finger (which they have). Statue restoration and repairs are in the works.
Sheep!
Visit the barn to get a look at the sheep, and mark your calendar for the Annual Sheep Shearing in April.
Tip: I highly suggest you take the 35 minute tour. (Ticket info here.) It gives excellent insight into James Monroe’s contributions as a founding father of this country.
It also provides a glimpse into a working farm plantation with original and period furnishings and of course, you’ll have the chance to stroll the extraordinary gardens, grounds and outbuildings at your leisure.
For everything you need to know about Charlottesville, check out VisitCharlottesville.org
Comments & Reviews
What a gorgeous property that is. I love historical sites like this.
What a great piece of history. I love taking tours of historical places and buildings.
We love to tour old homes. You learn so much about the people. My daughter loves to see what’s on the walls for artwork.
This looks like a really neat place to explore. I will make sure that I do the tour if I am ever in the area.
That is so cool! Thanks for sharing this twist of history! Looks like a great place to visit! I love archaeological things like this. And that old “witness tree” has probably seen a LOT over the years! Great picture of the sheep, too! I would love to go see this place!
I love historical places like this. I would love to visit there sometime. It looks so beautiful too!
What a beautiful place to visit!! I love to visit historical places like this, I love the history of old homes and the stories they have.
The stories are my favorite part! I love hearing what went on back in the day.
Oh I like they are preserving the history “look” of the place. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Now I am also acquainted with the history. So James Monroe house is actually his guest house and his original home doesn’t exist. Indeed, it is a big twist. I am also surprised with the witness tree; 300 years…wow..I can’t even imagine what all it has seen. Great pictures.
I love historical properties! I would love the chance to live in one just as it was back then.
Beautiful! I’m in DAR and we maintain an historic site, George Walton’s home (Meadowgarden) in Augusta, GA. I STILL have not seen the grounds, and this makes me want to go!
What an incredible, historic place to visit. Your images alone tell an incredible story! We’d love to visit someday.
Oh wow! That is so beautiful! I love that tree lined approach, and all of those hedges. It feels like walking into The Secret Garden.
I enjoy historical places, it’s so nice when things are preserved allowing people to see things in their original state! Have to appreciate that.
That’s so sad that the Monroe’s house was burned down. Seeing everything else, I bet it was so pretty!
I love the sheep photo! How fun. When we went to The Ponderosa Ranch in Western Nebraska we saw a lot of sheep. The boys had a friendly tag game with them.
Wow! There is so much history there! Looks like a great place to visit.
I am a big history buff. And this is just the kind of thing I would love to visit. Thanks for giving me a history lesson and the pictures are fantastic.
Wow I’ve visited Virginia many times and never stopped off to see this. I will have to put it on my list for next time!
I love visiting and hearing stories about history. I was never a history buff but now I find it so exciting. It boggles my mind sometimes to see how they lived, I don’t think I’d be able to do it.
As a kid we visited many houses like these. My mom enjoyed doing this.
What a lovely place to go and visit. I love visiting historical places and imagining what they were like back ten.
What a cool place to visit! And that tree is amazing. 300 years old? I would love to visit here one day.
Oh I do love going on tours like this. I’ve never been to this place but hope to one day. The last one I went to was Jimmy Carter’s family farm where he grew up. It was very educational as I’m sure this tour is.
I love to go to places like this. This is such a great way to get your history and enjoy a day out too.
I would love to go explore and learn some of the history of this place. I love to go to places like this.
It would be fun to take the 35 min tour. I love to learn history.
I really love to learn about the past and history as well.
I love history and home tours. This would be so great to see in person. Thank you for the tour.
OMGosh I giggled at the sheep photo, kinda cool but also creepy like it’s staring at us! Haha. I love old places like this and will have to visit this location some time!
These photos were great. Thanks for the tour!! 🙂
Beautiful! I love historic places, they have such character and are inviting.
I love visiting historical places like this. If that tree could only talk think of the stories it could tell.
Looks like an amazing place to visit! It is always so neat to read about places to visit.
It looks absolutely amazing, and a little creepy x
So much history. I love the White Oak what an incredible age and he smiiey sheep was too cute!
What a fun place to visit. I can’t believe that tree is 300 years old. The history of the area is truly awe-inspiring. This would be a great place to visit with the family.
What a fun place to visit, i love historical house. xx
Cute house! I hope you had a good time!
Nina
aworldofdresses.com
Oh wow how interesting especially about the hidden house. Love the house. Glad you enjoyed it.
First off I must say I would give anything to give that big, beautiful tree a nice hug! Seriously, I’m one of those people who will get out of a car just to hug a gorgeous tree. LOL Second, what a fun and unexpected find! I’ve always been fascinated with archeology. In a different life I’m convinced I would have become an archeologist.
I love learning about history! I think it is fascinating they found the original foundation underneath the other. So cool!
What a beautiful place to visit! My daughter loves all things history so I just know she would love to visit a place like this!
What a neat place to visit. So gorgeous and historic!
Oh this looks like a great place to visit with significant historical importance. I love the 300 year old tree. That is cool.
Me too. This is too gorgeous
I absolutely love these photos! So picturesque.
I love tours, especially when they are historical. I don’t know a lot about James Monroe so I will have to do some research!
What a beautiful place. I love the property. And the sheep shearing sounds fun! We have a local festival here for that in the spring.
I would love to go to a sheep shearing festival. I have never been to one before, but I have helped shear our sheep.
I also want to attend a sheep shearing festival and see different cultures and festivals. so amusing.
This looks beautiful! Definitely interested in visiting!
It looks fabulous there, well worth visiting someday hopefully soon 😉
I love visiting historical buildings, it’s always so cool to imagine people’s lives way back when. This looks like a beautiful place to go!
Oh, that sheep is so cute! I love sheep, we have twelve. Visiting Highland would be so cool. I would love to see that “witness tree” in person.
Such a pretty area and such a lot of history behind it x
I want to do a historical tour of the US starting in Boston with the Freedom Trail. I’ll have to add this to the list.
Wow so much history – I would love to visit x
The grounds surrounding the home are stunning. I visited Monticello once before, but I can’t remember if we stopped by James Monroe’s home. Now I’m so curious to go back and visit both.
This looks like such a great tour, so much to see and hear. A tour that is educational is always good and creates good memories.
I would love to take a tour there. That tree is gorgeous, and it would be so much fun to see the sheep shearing! How cute is that little face?!
I really like history that is still around (like this house). To me, seeing is believing when it comes to history. This is a really cool story though of them changing the name and finding the actual house of his!
This seems like a interesting historical place and I love, love and just love the fact that they have a sheep shearing day. If I was close I would so go and see all that beautiful fiber.
Liz, it’s good you got to visit Highland. It’s always been overshadowed by Monticello. GA, MA & VA are my fav states for historical sites.
Wow it’s very interesting historical tour you went highland is very place but I never been there yet I love historical building and place, thank you for sharing
Charlottesville is such a beautiful place! I’ve been meaning to go for a long weekend, there is so much history and the town is lovely. I’ll have to put this on the list. I love historical homes and we’ve seen Monticello a few times. This is next!
It does look like a beautiful place to visit.
What a cool bit of history! You have some amazing pictures here, the grounds are absolutely stunning!
This looks like a beautiful plantation! My daughter is obsessed with sheep and would love the Sheep Barn! I’d love to learn more about James Monroe and the tour sounds awesome!
What a beautiful place, I loved reading about James Monroe Highland, super cool. Loving the tree photo, looks almost eery!
That tour sounds so fun. I love the photos that you shared! This would definitely be a unique experience!
So lovely to see more of Charlottesville as I travelled here on a school exchange when I was younger xxx
It’s such a beautiful place to visit especially during the summer. The entrance is already stunning and once you get to the actual place, you’ll simply fall in love. I can’t wait to see this place after all the renovations are done!
I have never been there, but this looks fascinating. I love old historical buildings and that sheep cracks me up. He (she?) looks like they are very curious about why you’re checking out their home!
What a beautiful place this seems! I would really like to visit it and take some pictures myself
That would be a great place to visit. I went to James Monroe elementary school in CA! That view is very beautiful. I’m sure that tree has seen a lot of things!
I love how serene the place is and also it is a way to enjoy scenery with interesting history in it.
I love when history has a way of re-writes its self. The sheep make me laugh, it looked so life like. The tree screams south to me, it reminds me of my childhood. I bet you can get an excellent breeze laying up there.
We have been able to see a few historic sites whenever we visit my sister on the east coast. I’d love to see another presidential residence. How meat that the truth has only so recently been discovered.
Oh my goodness, I love history! I have been to a few historical homes and I love the history, the look, the feel. It is as though you can feel the past that has been there. How beautiful is this home. What a great visit.
My son loves history! I bet he would be really interested in visiting James Madison’s home.
I love that kind of places. Full of history ans memories.
Beautiful place! I definitely love the entrance heading into the place. I love history and would love to visit here one day.
I need to pop this on my must-see places. That picture of the tree is beautiful! Sometimes I forget to embrace local history.
Great place to relax!
This looks like a gorgeous property! I love going to visit historical places and homes.
I love history and I will always take the time to visit places like this.
What a nice discovery ! Wat I love the best about travelling is learning more about history 🙂 As i am a pretty curious person History as always been my favorite course at school and university 😉
I need to go to Charlottesville one day. I think it would be the perfect place for me. 🙂 x
This is indeed a place I never thought to visit so I am glad you made this post. We love history in my family and the James Monroe Higland is now a place we will have to visit. It looks gorgeous from the photos shown here. Thanks for showing the photos and the information.
What an interesting story about the house. Very interesting tour. I like seeing rooms with the furniture kept as it used to be in old eras.
OMG how cute is the sheep! SO cute and great capture.
I love looking at old oak trees and wondering what they have seen/how long they are going to be here for.
I’ve never been to Charlottesville before but I need to go there one day! All the photos you shared are incredible!
Great history! What really blew me away though, is those trees! Enormous and beautiful. We have a lot of tress in the NW but they don’t look like that. Gorgeous!
Wow the grounds are amazing, you could easily lose track of time wandering around and taking it all in. Lovely!
Cute little sheep! I’ve never been here, but would love to visit sometime. I love historical sites.
What a beautiful place to visit! I love to visit places with history it is so much fun to learn about these places!!
Gosh, I love history! It’s so neat what some digging will do to help us understand it a bit deeper.
What a beautiful and quiet retreat! I love visiting historical places and staying here gives you both relaxation and a history lesson or two!
Love your photos!
You got some really good nature photos. I especially like the sheep picture, it’s really funny!
What a beautiful place! I would love to do the tour and visit the presidential estates!
http://lilinhaangel.com/
I just love visiting historical places. Especially those with such beautiful surroundings!
I would rather have a good house and amazing land, than the other way around. 🙂 Love taking the tour a bit through your pics!
What a stunning place to visit, the place seems very Waltons-esque x
This looks like a really interesting day out! It’s great to immerse yourself in history
This looks like an awesome place to tour, I’d love to take the whole family there. Doesn’t get better than fun and history all in one stop!
This looks like a great place to sightsee with the family. Your pictures are AMAZING by the way! Gorgeous
Your pictures tell such a beautiful story about this place! I would love to visit!1
I’m obsessed with the view of this beautiful place. I’m jealous and I’ve never been in any beautiful place like this.
Great pics! The grounds and property look beautiful!
This place looks really refreshing. I like reading posts about history.
My goodness, that entrance is surely spectacular for sure and that 300 Year-old White Oak Tree is quiet amazing. The pictures are so interesting that I would love visiting one such place anytime!
I am a school teacher that teaches Social Studies. I love being able to visit places like this to experience what their lives were like.
Wow, this place is so nice. What a nice story too!
I would love to go learn all about the history here. It looks like a beautiful place to explore.
I would love to take my kids to a place like this. It is so pretty and they can learn.
Wow! Omg…incredible! This seems like a interesting historical place!!!
What a fabulous place to visit! I love how news facts are still being discovered about the original structure too!
ive not heard of it but i do love learning about new things especially anything historical
You would think that going to school in Florida from middle school to high school I would know who James Monroe was. *hides in shame* If I ever get the chance to visit Charlottesville, I will be sure to stop by take the tour.
A 300 year old tree! oh wow, I would love to see that myself. What a lovely history twist.
I am a huge history nerd and your pics of James Monroe’s Highland are just gorgeous! Great post!
OMG, what an amazing history to indulge yourself during a holiday. Beautiful property!
Your photos are awesome. It feels like you brought me to the place! Keep up the good work.
This would be a fab place to visit to learn a bit about American history 🙂
Wow, how do you come up with these amazing pictures? The entire place looks like something that came out from Forrest Gump’s hometown, which is very good for my taste.
This is really interesting history twist. The sheeps too cute and I love the garden. Too bad it didn’t bloom.
This place is picture perfect! I love the picture of the sheep. Glad you had such a great time exploring this location!
xoxo, Candice
http://www.candicenikeia.com
What a beautiful place to explore. The bed looks so comfy.
Wow it looks so amazing and peaceful ! I wish I was there. I love places close to the nature. Apparently it is too far away from me but I will keep it in mind for a visit.
I don’t know anything about James Monroe but that’s a pretty discovery!
This looks a beautiful place to visit! I’ll definitely add it to my list of places to check out if I’m ever in Virginia!
I love exploring historical places. This looks so fun and interesting!