"I walk in the graveyard, I walk through the graveyard To lay this body down. I lay in the grave and stretch out my arms; I lay this body down." -African American spiritual from the era of slavery, as recorded in James Weldon . . . — — Map (db m298095) HM
" the sumptuous board spread under the forest oaks .... everything that a luxurious country could produce, wines, and the well filled punch bowl, to say nothing of the invigorating mountain air " - Mary Cutts, Memoir, c. . . . — — Map (db m298088) HM
"And I desire my black Smith Moses, may belong to such of my children as he shall chose if they are willing to take him at a reasonable price." - Will of James Madison, Sr., 1787
Roundtrip: One mile of level woodland trails
An easy walk through a Confederate winter camp to the Gilmore Farm, home of freed Montpelier slave, George Gilmore and his wife, Polly.
Montpelier During the War
After Dolley Madison sold . . . — — Map (db m103579) HM
Guided by the discoveries of local relic collectors, archaeologists have found an extensive Confederate Army encampment within these woods. Excavations have uncovered the remains of huts built by the soldiers during the winter of 1863 and 1864. The . . . — — Map (db m298079) HM
After Dolley Madison sold Montpelier in 1844, the estate witnessed many important historic events, few more significant than those of the 1860s. Throughout the winter of 1863 and 1864, as many as 4,500 Confederate troops camped here, part of a . . . — — Map (db m31715) HM
Archaeology Reveals Hidden History
Excavations revealed a virtually untouched Confederate encampment at this location. The rich finds provide a picture of the soldiers' daily lives as they struggled through the harsh winter of 1863-64. . . . — — Map (db m298080) HM
Modern re-enactors from the 3rd Regiment of the Army of Northern Virginia constructed these huts. Like the South Carolina Brigade before them, the re-enactors cut these logs from the surrounding woods. The trees around you are about the same age as . . . — — Map (db m103406) HM
Born to Quaker parents in North Carolina, Dolley Payne lived with her family in Hanover County, Virginia until 1783. Following the death of her first husband, John Todd, she married Congressman James Madison in 1794. As First Lady of the United . . . — — Map (db m63669) HM
"at some distance from the house was the garden laid off in the shape of a horseshoe... It was a paradise of roses and other flowers, to say nothing of the strawberries, and vegetables."
Mary E.E. Cutts, Memoir II
The . . . — — Map (db m298150) HM
"It was a paradise of roses and other flowers, to say nothing of the strawberries, and vegetables; every rare plant and fruit was sent to him by his admiring friends, who knew his taste, and they were carefully studied and reared by . . . — — Map (db m298090) HM
George and Polly Gilmore's Graves
This area contains several graves of the Gilmore family. Most prominent among these are the graves of George and Polly Gilmore who are buried beneath the depressions in front of this sign. These depressions . . . — — Map (db m103407) HM
George Gilmore was born into slavery at Montpelier about 1810. Like millions of African Americans throughout the South, Gilmore made the transition to freedom after the Civil War. Many emancipated slaves worked on the same plantation where they once . . . — — Map (db m23986) HM
George Gilmore, born a slave on the Montpelier plantation about 1810, was freed with the Federal occupation of Orange County in 1865. With his wife Poly and three children, he established a small farmstead near the plantation where he had been . . . — — Map (db m103408) HM
From Property to Property Owner
George Gilmore, born into slavery at Montpelier around 1810, was emancipated with the Union army's 1865 occupation of Orange County. Soon after, George, and his wife Polly and three children, built a small . . . — — Map (db m298083) HM
The Madisons' expansive landholdings in Orange county encompassed several farms, including Sawney's Tract, the Mill Quarter, and Black Meadow. It was not only on those outlying farms that crops were grown, however. The area where you are standing . . . — — Map (db m298147) HM
Slaves who worked in the Madison's household lived in this nearby area known as the "south yard." The yards of these homes, where most of the household activities took place, were in direct sight of the mansion. As a result, the Madisons would . . . — — Map (db m298089) HM
Gen. Lafayette visited here Nov. 15-19, 1824, discussing slavery and religious liberty with Madison. He returned Aug. 21, 1825.
William G. Pomeroy Foundation 2021 — — Map (db m298085) HM
The Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District, encompassing 32,520 acres of the Piedmont, has been inhabited for more than 12,000 years and contains almost 200 identified prehistoric archaeological sites. Nearby was the likely location of Stegara, a . . . — — Map (db m117219) HM
"The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished an perpetuated." -James Madison, Advice to My Country, 1834
The Madison Family Cemetery is the understated . . . — — Map (db m298097) HM
In the fields in front of you, archaeologists have found the extremely well-preserved remains of James Madison's plantation farm complex, which served as the hub of the working farm and the home for several generations of field slaves. This . . . — — Map (db m298094) HM
"The shortness of the crop of Corn at [my farm at] Black Meadow is a proof of the ruinous tendency of perpetual cultivation, and of the absolute necessity, of a meliorating rotation of rest, & red Clover, with all the help that . . . — — Map (db m298099) HM
"The shortness of the crop of Corn at [my farm at] Black Meadow is a proof of the ruinous tendency of perpetual cultivation, and of the absolute necessity, of a meliorating rotation of rest, & red Clover, with all the help that . . . — — Map (db m298101) HM
Train service first came to Montpelier in 1880 when the rail line from Orange to Charlottesville was completed. After 1910, a Southern Railway station agent managed the freight, passenger, and telegraph operations, and beginning in 1912, served as . . . — — Map (db m31752) HM
"We tend to shy away from our past...we should face up to it, live with it, otherwise it will live with you, and haunt you, and distort you, for all your days." John Hope Franklin, historian, Speaking at the Montpelier slave descendants . . . — — Map (db m31723) HM
In 1716 Alexander Spotswood, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, led an expedition of twelve members of the gentry and about 30 enslaved servants, Native American guides, and soldiers up the Rappahannock River, through the Virginia Piedmont, and into . . . — — Map (db m298142) HM
James Madison's grandfather, Ambrose Madison, had his slaves construct Mount Pleasant sometime after 1723. Ambrose moved his family here in 1732 from Virginia's Tidewater and unexpectedly died within a few months. Court records show that three . . . — — Map (db m298096) HM
With emancipation, African-Americans found themselves in a complex situation. By law, slavery was abolished, promising freedom and citizenship, but few owned land or had resources to support themselves, and prejudice against them was widespread. . . . — — Map (db m298082) HM
Citizenship Granted: Reconstruction and Constitutional Amendments
Three amendments to the U.S. Constitution were ratified after the Civil War. The 13th Amendment granted citizenship to people who had been enslaved and guaranteed "the equal . . . — — Map (db m298081) HM
"The Negro habitations are separate from the dwelling house both here and all over Virginia, and they form a kind of village." - Journal of Sir Augustus John Foster, 1807
The Quarters, a cluster of wooden . . . — — Map (db m298091) HM
"Having lost ourselves in the mountain road which leads thro' a wild woody tract of ground, and wandering for some time in Mr. Madison's domain, which seemed interminable, we at last reached his hospitable mansion." - Margret . . . — — Map (db m298092) HM
The burial ground where you are standing is the final resting lace for many members of Montpelier's enslaved community. Slaves' belief in a spiritual world - originating in African religions - was reinforced by Christianity. This drawing shows . . . — — Map (db m298098) HM
