Tag: Jefferson’s Legacies

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Jefferson’s Legacies: Neoclassical Legacy: Jefferson & Architecture

Travis McDonald speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

On March 31, 2016, Travis McDonald presented the fourth and final part of our Thursday series entitled Jefferson’s Legacies.

Travis McDonald is an architectural historian who has directed the restoration of Thomas Jefferson’s villa retreat Poplar Forest since 1989. The restoration has been acknowledged as one of the most authentic such projects in the United States. Mr. McDonald has written and lectured extensively on Jefferson, Poplar Forest and early Virginia architecture. He formally worked for the chief historical architect of the National Park Service for the Colonial Williamsburg foundation and has directed museum restorations in Virginia for more than thirty years. Travis received his graduate degree in architectural history from the University of Virginia School of Architecture. In 2011, he was awarded the highest award, The Architecture Medal for Virginia Service by the Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for his work on Poplar Forest.

Mr. McDonald serves on many historic preservation advisory boards including that for Thomas Jefferson’s buildings at the University of Virginia.

The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

Click here to listen to all four parts of this series.

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Jefferson’s Legacies: The Founding of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation

Rick Britton speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

On March 10, 2016, Rick Britton presented the third lecture in our four part CPN Thursday series entitled Jefferson’s Legacies.

The story of the founding of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation is full of many odd twists and turns. Following his death, the Jefferson estate fell into the hands of private owners. In this podcast, you will learn how the United States third president’s home, Monticello, came to be a public place in honor of its most famous resident.

Rick Britton is a historian of the Old Dominion who specializes in 18th- and 19th-century Virginia history. Two of his main areas of expertise are the American Civil War and the life and times of our third president, Thomas Jefferson. Along with his writing, Rick conducts tours of Civil War battlefields, teaches classes on the history of central Virginia, organizes history programming for the Senior Center in Charlottesville, illustrates maps for history books, and lectures all across Virginia on a wide range of topics. With over 200 published articles and essays under his belt, he’s the author of Albemarle & Charlottesville: An Illustrated History and Jefferson: A Monticello Sampler for which he was awarded a medal for non-fiction at New York City’s Book Expo, the nation’s largest book convention. His newest book, Virginia Vignettes (Vol. 1) – Famous Characters & Events in Central Virginia History, is the first of a new series featuring some of the men and women who figure large in 18th- and 19th-century American history.

The lecture was presented by Rick Britton as a part of this series and was held in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Click here to listen to all four parts of this series.

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Jefferson’s Legacies: Monticello’s Archaeological Legacy

Beth Sawyer speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

On March 3, 2016, Beth Sawyer presented the second lecture in a our four part CPN Thursday series entitled Jefferson’s Legacies.

In this podcast you will learn about more than just the famous Jefferson home at Monticello. Jefferson’s time “on the mountain” left a rich archaeological legacy which is still being investigated today.

Beth Sawyer is an archaeological analyst at Monticello and works in the archaeology lab processing artifacts and performing analysis as well as working with public programs. A graduate of William and Mary University, she volunteered with the Fairfield Foundation in Tidewater, and interned with Montpelier before joining the Monticello team. For the past ten years she has been engaged with every aspect of the archaeology department including field work, artifact processing, museum exhibits, public archaeology programs and the current mountain top restoration project. Her varied research interests include plantation archaeology and ceramic analysis, but she most enjoys sharing her findings and engaging with the public.

The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

Click here to listen to all four parts of this series.

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Jefferson’s Legacies: Jefferson and Botany

Peggy Cornett speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

On February 18, 2016, Peggy Cornett presented the first lecture in a new four part CPN Thursday series entitled Jefferson’s Legacies.

Third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson had many interests including a love of botany. Monticello Curator of Plants Peggy Cornett talks about Jefferson’s interest in botany the effects of which can still be seen today.

Peggy Cornett has worked at Monticello since 1983. Shebegan as an associate director of gardens and grounds and from 1992 to 2009 she served as director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants. Before Ms. Cornett assumed her current position, Curator of Plants, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in English and botany and a master’s degree in public garden administration from the Longwood Graduate program at the University of Delaware.

Ms. Cornett has lectured widely on garden history topics throughout the United States as well as at the American Museum in Bath England, and for the Bermuda Rose society in Hamilton Bermuda. Peggy writes articles for gardening magazines, professional journals, including the American Public Garden Association, and she wrote, produced and edited Twinleaf, the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants annual journal and catalog. Since 1990 she has edited and produced Magnolia, the quarterly publication of the Southern Garden History Society.

The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.

Click here to listen to all four parts of this series.