The Montpelier Foundation

Montpelier is once again partnering with Blue Star Museums to offer free admission to the nation’s active duty military personnel including National Guard and Reserve and their families! This program will start Saturday, May 17th, 2025, and continue through Labor Day, Monday, September 1st, 2025.

Majestic Trees of Montpelier! Discover the Majestic Trees of Montpelier on a unique saunter through the grounds. This event is presented in collaboration with the Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Master Naturalists. Come explore this site from the new angle of our awe-inspiring trees. Specimens will include trees believed to have witnessed life at Montpelier during the Madison period and some of their younger but still massive neighbors planted as late as the 1900’s. Space is limited! Terrain may be rough/steep in places, please wear weather-appropriate clothing and suitable shoes. Register at https://buff.ly/RRm0cmV

Since today’s date is 3-14, it’s Pi Day, celebrating that fascinating ratio between the circumference and the diameter of a circle (3.14 with an infinite number of digits). Was James Madison enough of a math nerd to appreciate Pi Day? Find out in our blog post “James Madison and Pi. And Pie” on Montpelier’s Digital Doorway.

#OTD in 1789, James Madison took his seat in the First Congress of the United States under the new Constitution. Madison was acutely aware of the lack of precedents in all areas of the federal government, writing to Jefferson, “We are in a wilderness without a single footstep to guide us. Our successors will have an easier task. And by degrees the way will become smooth short and certain.” During this time, Madison’s accomplishments included ghostwriting Washington’s inaugural address, drafting the Bill of Rights, and helping devise the compromise that brought the nation’s capital from New York to the banks of the Potomac. Amos Doolittle, "Federal Hall, Seat of Congress,” Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Yesterday, A trained and experienced team of professionals from the Virginia Department of Forestry and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service was on site for the Prescribed Burning process. We also coordinated with Orange County first responders. We use prescribed burning to restore and maintain a healthy grassland ecosystem. This fire will consume the dry grasses and other herbaceous plants from last year. The heat produced will scorch the many saplings and seeds of invasive annual species in the meadow. After the flames have cooled, native grasses will resprout from their dense flame-resistant crowns and benefit from a head-start over their surviving competitors. The flames will also clear much of the ground and facilitate overseeding portions of the meadow with native grasses and pollinator plants. Without regular intervention, invasive plants and saplings will quickly overtake the desired plant community.

James Madison's Montpelier is OPEN! Take a Highlights of Montpelier tour or explore the grounds at your own pace with a Property Pass. Enjoy our 8+ miles of well marked walking trails with your furry friends and stop by the gift shop for your Madison related memorabilia.

It’s Women’s History Wednesday, and we’re featuring someone very special to Dolley Madison. Sweet, sensible, affectionate, joyous ... these were just a few of the words that people used to describe Annie Payne Causten, Dolley Madison’s niece and companion, shown in this 1848 Mathew Brady daguerreotype. You’ll find the rest of her story, “Annie Payne Causten: Dolley’s ‘Sterling Girl’,” in the Digging Deeper blog on Montpelier’s Digital Doorway.

On March 16th, in honor of James Madison’s birthday, the United States Marine Corps Color Guard will lay the presidential wreath at the Madison Family Cemetery at Montpelier. The wreath laying will be held rain or shine at 2:00PM. This event will also be live streamed on our Facebook page!

It’s our Silver Anniversary! Throughout the year, we will be looking back at all the major accomplishments The Montpelier Foundation has made in the past 25 years. Even though Montpelier opened to the public in 1987 as a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it was only in 2000 that The Montpelier Foundation was established to operate Montpelier in Co-stewardship with NTHP. In 2000, the Trust transferred stewardship of Montpelier to TMF through a long-term lease and other agreements, which paved the way for the restoration of the historic home as it was created by James and Dolley Madison. In writing her will, Marion duPont concluded that “it is appropriate” that the mansion should be restored “in such a manner as to conform as nearly as possible with the architectural pattern which existed when . . . owned and occupied by President Madison.” After her death in 1983, her heirs transferred ownership to the NTHP in 1984, as she desired.

We are excited to announce that The Montpelier Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary of co-stewardship with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To mark this historic milestone, we will be offering “$25 for 2025” - that is, for a limited time, adult (18 and up) tour ticket prices are $25! We invite you to take advantage of this offer and bring your family and friends for an enjoyable day at Montpelier. Book your tour today at https://buff.ly/UofJlhj