People Enslaved at Monticello
Learn more about some of the people who lived and worked at Monticello.
Find out about the 5,000-acre Monticello plantation that was home to both the Jefferson family and an extended community of workers that some years included up to 130 enslaved individuals.
Work on the Plantation
The Monticello plantation was both an agricultural farm, where wheat, tobacco and other crops were grown, and a site of "cottage" industries, including a textile factory, a blacksmith shop, nailmaking and barrelmaking operations, and water-powered mills.
Organization of the Monticello Plantation
To manage his 5,000-acre plantation, Jefferson divided the land into separate "farms."
Free Workers Employed at Monticello
More than 100 free workmen were employed on the plantation during Jefferson's ownership of Monticello.
Videos about the Monticello Plantation
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Picturing Mulberry Row - understanding slavery at Monticello through this critical component of the greater plantation (5 min.)
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Jefferson's Daily Ride - a retracing of Jefferson's daily ride around his Monticello plantation (5 min.)
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"The whole machine would move in exact equilibria" - Jefferson Seeks to Perfect the Wheat Harvest (1.5 min.)