Exhibit
1776: Road to the Declaration
This exhibit reveals that in 1776, the future was anything but certain.
Current Exhibits
Current Exhibits
Included with admission, Monticello's exhibits bring history to life through the many stories that shaped this place — from Thomas Jefferson's life as a statesman, scientist, and architect to the enslaved community who built and sustained his mountaintop home. Thought-provoking and immersive, there's always something new to discover.
At Monticello's David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center
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![1776 exhibit at Monticello - wide angle image of exhibit with people walking around]()
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![Visitors at the Many Threads -- One Story Orientation Timeline at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello]()
ExhibitMany Threads—One Story Orientation Timeline
A new orientation timeline at the Visitor Center
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![Thomas Jefferson's Monticello "Griffin Discovery Room" exhibit]()
ProgramGriffin Discovery Room
A hands-on space where kids investigate the past using the same tools as Monticello's historians, archaeologists, and curators.
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![An actor portraying Jefferson is silhouetted by the sunrise as he stands in the Monticello Garden Pavilion looking out on a expansive, golden-lit view of the landscape.]()
ExhibitThomas Jefferson’s World Film
The visually rich 15-minute introductory film orients all Monticello visitors to key notions regarding Jefferson's ideas and accomplishments.
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![A wide image of the wooded area surrounding the Burial Ground for Enslaved People at Monticello, showing the sites updated fencing and plantings from 2022.]()
ExhibitBurial Ground for Enslaved People
The site of several graves of enslaved African Americans at Monticello is a place to honor and reflect on the over 400 enslaved people who lived and labored at Monticello during Jefferson's lifetime.
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ExhibitPlantation Model
A bronze relief model of Jefferson's entire 5,000-acre Monticello plantation.
At the Main House
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![A man and his daughter look at cutout life-sized depictions of a man and a woman in early 19th-century dress while another man looks at a cutout image of an enslaved boy carrying firewood and a bucket.]()
ExhibitExhibits under the Main House
Step into Monticello's working basement, where the Crossroads exhibit, Wine Cellar, and Beer Cellar illuminate the labor, lives, and daily rhythms of the enslaved people who kept the household running.
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![A woman's dress form stands in front of projected shadows depicting Sally Hemings coming her daughter's hair while two boys play the violin]()
ExhibitThe Life of Sally Hemings
This exhibit relies on the words of Sally Hemings’s and Thomas Jefferson’s son, Madison, to explore her life and the legacy of freedom she achieved for her family.
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![Shelves with copper pans and cooking utensils like the walls of Monticello's restored kitchen, which features a brick floor, a large hearth, a large preparation table, and a row of stew stoves along the left wall.]()
Exhibit1809 Kitchen
Monticello’s later kitchen incorporated all the newest and best cooking technologies available at the time.
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ExhibitCook’s Room
Enslaved chef Peter Hemings lived in this quarter for some time before another enslaved chef, Edith Fossett and her family, moved in.
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![A dress form with a brown dress with a large lace collar draped over it.]()
ExhibitSouth Pavilion and Martha Wayles Jefferson
The South Pavilion, probably begun in the summer of 1770, is believed to be the first brick building completed on Monticello mountain.
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ExhibitGetting Word
Since 1993, Getting Word has been recording oral histories of the descendants of Monticello's enslaved community.
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![A sign for the Granger Hemings Kitchen with a painting of a woman descending the stairs that once led from the Jefferson's living space above.]()
ExhibitGranger/Hemings Kitchen
Monticello's first kitchen
On Grounds at the Main House
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![Visitors leaving a small wooden, mud-and-daub building, known as the Storehouse for Iron, that has been recreated on Monticello's Mulberrry Row.]()
ExhibitSites along Mulberry Row
Monticello's main plantation street features reconstructed cabins and workshops — including the Textile Workshop, Storehouse for Iron, and Hemmings Cabin — telling the stories of the enslaved community who lived and worked here.
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![Aerial of the Monticello mountaintop in the fall looking from the southeast and showing the main house and its wings, the winding flower walk, buildings along Mulberry Row, the Vegetable Garden Terrace, the South Orchard and Vineyards, and the deeper forested area to the north and west.]()
PageA Historic Garden Landscape
Descriptions of the various parts of Monticello's gardens and grounds around the publicly accessible historic mountaintop.
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![Jefferson's obelisk gravestone, which features the three things his wished most to be remembered for: the Declaration of Independence; the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the University of Virginia.]()
ExhibitJefferson's Grave
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people visit Thomas Jefferson's grave in the Monticello graveyard, which is marked by an obelisk based on his own design.
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![The names of people enslaved at Monticello cut into spaces in a corten steel wall so that they stand out from the light behind them.]()
ExhibitContemplative Site
A powerful, yet tranquil space to reflect upon lives and legacies of Monticello's enslaved African Americans.
When you're here...
Check out our Itineraries for recommendations based on your interests or choose from one of our regularly offered tours.
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