The Pantograph; A Portable Copying Machine
What is a pantograph and did Madison use one?
Digging Deeper
Behind the Scenes at James Madison's Montpelier
Montpelier’s Edible Alphabet
From Apples to Yams, it’s a harvest of research into foods grown by enslaved gardeners at Montpelier.
Finding the Overseer’s Site
Metal detecting led us to the spot to find the Overseer’s House! Learn how!
The Great Portrait Rescue: A Historical Whodunit
When the evidence is conflicting, who gets credit for rescuing George Washington’s portrait from the White House on August 24, 1814?
The Quake of Quarles
Learn how one woman’s large-scale emancipation rocked like an earthquake through the enslaved community in Orange, Virginia.
The Language of Freedom
Emancipation in antebellum America was rare. So when it did happen, what did it look like legally? And what happened next?
Beyond Closed Doors: The Intern
Read what Rebecca has to say about her internship with the Curatorial & Collections Department.
Exploring Madison’s Home Farm: New Excavations at the Overseer’s House
The Archaeology Department is beginning a new period of excavations at the Madison Home Farm – beginning with the Overseer’s House!