In the Beginning

“Enlighten the People”: Research, Education, and Preservation at Monticello and Beyond

From its creation in 1923, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates Monticello, has always placed great emphasis on scholarship.

From the 1920s through the mid-1950s, Fiske and Marie Kimball (chairman of Monticello's restoration committee and its first curator, respectively) were well- known for their meticulous documentary research. Their successor, James A. Bear, Jr. (Monticello's first full-time curator), spent decades compiling and transcribing sources into his famous "black notebooks," including visitor accounts, chronologies, unpublished letters, and land records.

In 1985, Daniel P. Jordan (1928-2024), a former professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, took up the Director's mantle. Under Jordan, Monticello expanded its vision of what a historic house site could be. He advanced the scholarly program that led to the establishment of the ICJS at Kenwood in 1994, under a co-operative agreement with the University of Virginia.

ICJS grew to include research, archaeology, education, scholarly programs, publications, the Getting Word African-American Oral History Project, the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series, the Jefferson Library, and DAACS.

ICJS Dedication

November 1995
The dedication of the new International Center for Jefferson Studies was attended by many friends and supporters. From left to right: Ruhi Ramazani, Garry Wills, Noble Cunningham, Charles Cullen, Erika Gentry, Merrill Peterson, Douglas Wilson, and Peter Onuf. Over the years, an Advisory Board of acclaimed scholars have helped guide the Center’s activities.

Made Possible By...

Thomas Jefferson 250th Anniversary Silver Dollar Coin In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill to create the Thomas Jefferson Commemorative Coin to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth. The coin created by the U.S. Mint sold out in four weeks, and a portion of the proceeds raised $5 million for “The Jefferson Moment” capital campaign and for ICJS.
Robert H. and Clarice Smith In 2004, ICJS was renamed to the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies in recognition of a $15 million gift by Robert H. and Clarice Smith to endow the Center in perpetuity.

The Kenwood Campus

Located on 78 acres of land that was once part of Jefferson’s holdings, Kenwood house was built between 1939-1941 by Major General Edwin “Pa” Watson and his wife, Frances Nash Watson. After her husband’s sudden death in 1945, Frances Nash Watson lived full-time at Kenwood with her niece, Ellen Virginia Nash. “Enie,” as her friends called her, was one of the first women to graduate with a law degree from the University of Virginia, and served on Charlottesville’s city council. After her aunt’s death in 1971, she lived at Kenwood, later relocating to the adjacent Roosevelt Cottage. Nash bequeathed Kenwood to the University of Virginia in 1970, which in turn leased the property to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in 1992. Today, Kenwood is home to ICJS, and includes the 15,500 square-foot Jefferson Library dedicated in 2002.

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Charlottesville, VA 22902
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