The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-08-12
1T the Home Of Tboma5 .Je88e1you

mer home, but who spends the greater
part of his time in New York. During
his absence few visitors are admitted
to the mansion. The grounds, however,
are open TO the public, and visitors
from all parts Of the United States may
be seen every day of the year vending
their way up the mountain side to
render homage to the great commoner.
The number of these visitors ranges
from fifty to 800 daily.
Standing in the grove of magnificent
oaks with nothing to disturb the still
ness but the whispering Of the trees,
and facing the mansion with its quaint
windows and monster columns, the
mind naturally, drops into a retrospect
tive mood. We forget where we are,
we picture to ourselves Thomas JEFF
ferson seated in an immense arm chair
on the great Veranda, surveying the
peaceful landscape that lies before the
eye on all sides, we think of the trials
of the war of the revolution, and Of the
great men that had sought refuge
within the hosDitable walls of that
grand home during those troublous
times, we think of the simpler life that
people led in those days, when sud-
denly, a screecfing locomotive on the
Southern railway rushes by in the dis
tance, and brings us back to the
twentieth century.
About one hundred feet from the
mansion on the side of the terrace, is a
clump of bushes which hides the en-
trance to a secret passage that leads
to the cellar of the mansion. When the
British surrounded the house during
the early period of the revolutionary
war, with the intent to capture Mr..
jefferson, he used it as q means of
escape. A number of small brick out
buildings, all of the quaint, colonial
style of architecture, flank the man
sion. In one of these Jefferson had his
office. The furniture he used and the
shelves for the law books may still be
seen. Another one of these outbuild-
ings was occupied by Jefferson with
his bride, while the main building was
being finished. He brought her there
in truly democratic style, on horse
back, she riding behind him. Then.
there is the old blacksmith shop, where
the slaves occupied their spare time in
making nails. The university of Vir-
ginia, and many of the old residences
of Charlottesville, were furnished with
the nails for their construction from
Jefferson's blacksmith shop. There is
also a weaving house, where all the
clothes for the slaves were made. and.
in the valley below the old knitting
factory, now IN ruins. ABOUT q mile
down in the valley stands a tall and
lone brick chimney, all there is left of
the house in which Jefferson was born.
The old colored folks of the neighbor-
hood tell many interesting stories of
Mr.. Jefferson. and always speak of
him as "Old Mars Tom"
Jefferson was, of course, absent a
time from his home. He
was minister to France under Wash
ington, and vice president under Adams.
After that he was president for eight
years. When he returned to Month
cello he did not retire to a reoose of
he kept UP an immense COR
dispensed the hospitali-
ties of his mansion to visitors from
every part of the world, and founded
the university of Virginia. Though a
large slave holder he labored for the
prohibition of the slave trade, and of
slavery in the territory beyond the
Ohio river and advocated emanciua- |
tion in Virginia. He had one child, a
daughter. and has numerous descend
ants. His death was remarkable; it |
on the fourth of July, 1926, |
while the nation was celebrating the
hftieth anniversary of the Declaration
Of independence. which he had written.
On the same day, and almost at the
same hour. John Adams, the second
president. who had signed with him
the Declaration. died in New England. |
~ A n "A