Shadwell
2450 Richmond Road, Charlottesville, Virginia
Shadwell / Waymarking
According to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello website:
Shadwell was the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson, and the main plantation of his father, Peter Jefferson. Located in Albemarle County, Virginia, it was named after the parish in London where Jane Randolph Jefferson was born.
Having acquired 1,000 acres for farming, Peter Jefferson purchased the adjacent 200-acre homesite from William Randolph in 1736, in exchange for "Henry Weatherbourn’s biggest bowl of Arrack punch." In October 1739, he and Jane Randolph were married and, within the next few years, they completed the original house at Shadwell and moved their young family to the Piedmont. Thomas Jefferson, their third child and first son, was born at Shadwell in 1743, though he spent only a few years of his childhood there.
Thomas Jefferson inherited the Shadwell plantation from his father. In February 1770, the one-and-a-half story frame house burned. The surrounding acreage continued to serve as farmland, one of Jefferson’s four quarter farms in Albemarle County. In 1813, Jefferson deeded the property to his grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph.
In 1991, an archaeological excavation on the property uncovered two cellar foundations, one of which is believed to be the site of the original main house built by Peter Jefferson.
Source: Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Photo
Updated July 2, 2018