George Ticknor Visits Monticello

Kyle Chattleton: This is Mountaintop History, a podcast dedicated to telling the story of Monticello and all who lived and labored here at this plantation. My name is Kyle Chattleton, and today we're talking about visitors to Monticello, or rather, a visitor to Monticello. While hundreds of thousands of visitors currently travel to Monticello by the year, we know that Thomas Jefferson similarly received guests at his home during his lifetime, albeit hundreds per year.

And one of those guests had a particularly memorable stay, a visit that you're bound to hear about today if you chat with one of the guides at Monticello. I'm referring to George Ticknor, someone who traveled to Monticello in 1815, eager to meet the former president. I spoke with Sam Riggs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation about George Ticknor's visit.

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All right, so Sam, can you set the scene for us? Who exactly is George Ticknor?  

Sam Riggs: Yeah, so it's February, 1815 and George Ticknor has traveled to Monticello to meet Mr. Jefferson. Ticknor was a young man from Boston, he's about 24 when he visits Jefferson, educated at Dartmouth College, and has recently become a lawyer in Massachusetts.

His visit to Monticello comes at a time though when he was between careers, as he had only practiced law for one year before changing course. His discussions about Europe with Jefferson hint to his future plans, that he plans to travel to Europe to further his literary studies. We know, in fact, that after four years in Europe, Tickner became a French and Spanish literature professor at Harvard and later in life became an acclaimed scholar on Spanish literature. He remained an influential figure in Boston and was one of the founders of the Boston Public Library.  

Kyle Chattleton: Alright, so we know then that he was an accomplished scholar and that he was traveling to visit Monticello before that more famous part of his life. But why was he making the trip to Monticello at all?

Sam Riggs: Well, we know that many people came to meet the former president during Jefferson's retirement years at Monticello. Not only was Jefferson an interesting man as an intellect and public figure, his home was also something of a tourist destination, even 200 years ago. The unique qualities of Jefferson's home enticed visitors to come and see it.

And it seems that Ticknor was particularly interested in meeting Jefferson because of his plans to soon travel to Europe. Since Jefferson spent five years in France as an ambassador there, Ticknor probably thought Jefferson would be a valuable source of information. Perhaps visiting Jefferson would help him to solidify his plans.

Kyle Chattleton: So Ticknor makes his trip to Monticello, and it's a pretty famous trip, at least for those of us who work here at Monticello. There are so many great phrases, as you know, that he uses to describe Jefferson and the house, but I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself. What was Ticknor's trip to Monticello like?

Sam Riggs: So Ticknor spent four days in total at Monticello, during which he spent time with Jefferson and his family. In these letters, in his letters after the fact, Ticknor talks about Monticello having a regular routine. The day began with breakfast, everyone dispersed for their daily activities, and finally came back together for the evening meal. Ticknor seems to have enjoyed his time at Monticello, and wrote that Jefferson was "a perfect gentleman in his own house."  

And you're right, Ticknor offers a really detailed description of the house in his account of his visit. There's a favorite quote used by many of the guides at Monticello: when recounting the journey to Monticello, Ticknor describes the mountain as "a steep, savage hill." He also describes the Entrance Hall as having "strange furniture" on its walls. And finally, he makes detailed note of Jefferson's art collection throughout the house. In total, Ticknor's description of Monticello conveys the sort of bizarre quality the house had for many visitors.  

Kyle Chattleton: And that's an interesting point. We know that Ticknor as this unique figure in the story of Monticello, but his thoughts about Jefferson and Monticello seem to be pretty typical to other visitors accounts who travel to Jefferson's home.

Sam Riggs: Yeah, Ticknor's time at Monticello doesn't seem out of place compared to the accounts of other visitors. For the most part, visitors commented on the appearance of the house, usually pointing out some of its strange decorations. And for the most part, also seemed rather pleased with their visit and spoke well of their host, despite his sometimes peculiar personality.

Jefferson and his home did get some negative reviews, but for the most part, it seems his visitors spoke favorably of their time at Monticello.  

Kyle Chattleton: So Sam, as someone who often uses Ticknor's account in your own interactions with today's visitors to Monticello like "steep, savage hill," "strange furniture" on the walls of the Entrance Hall, is Ticknor just someone who had neat phrases for what he saw, or is there something more important going on here?  

Sam Riggs: So what makes Ticknor's account so great is his description and the details he provides about his stay. Letters like Ticknor's are how historians learn what it was really like at Monticello when Jefferson was alive. For guides like us, Ticknor's account helps us paint a bigger picture for visitors. Stories about the past are what bring history to life, and real stories about real people are the best way to connect to history.

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Olivia Brown: This has been another episode of Mountaintop History, a collaboration podcast between WTJU and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.  

Kyle Chattleton: This episode of Mountaintop History was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Join us for new episodes every two weeks on Apple and Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and the Virginia Audio Collective.  

Olivia Brown: To learn more about Monticello or to plan your next trip, visit us online at Monticello.org.