Monday, June 28. Both of us have been interested in visiting Thomas Jefferson's estate for some time, but the trips never worked out. This year, we made it happen. We were not allowed to take photos of the inside of the house, but I took plenty of the grounds and gardens.
This is Mulberry Lane. In Jefferson's time, slave cabins would have lined each side of these trees. This was also the location of the blacksmith shop, brick making shop and other industries the plantation required.
The kitchen, set up as it would have been in that era. They even had sound effects, of women talking, humming songs, etc, just as they probably would have been doing then.
Underneath the house, was a network of storage and workrooms, including the wine cellar. Jefferson ordered wine from Europe, and one invoice showed that he ordered over 400 cases at once. When he entertained, a slave was stationed in the wine cellar, and when Jefferson wanted more wine, he would send the empty bottle down via a dumbwaiter, and the slave would replace it with a full one, selected earlier by Jefferson. The slave was allowed to finished whatever was in the bottle, so this was considered a good job amoung the slaves.
The gardens with a view. Today, heirloom vegetables are still grown, and the employees share the harvest.
An heirloom artichoke, and a bee butt!
1 comment:
In your last picture you can really tell that artichokes and thistles are related.
Can you imagine how HOT it was to work in those kitchens?
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