Shadwell is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Albemarle County, Virginia. It is located by the
Rivanna River near
Charlottesville. It was the birthplace of
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
, the central intellectual force behind the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
, author of the
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...
, and the
third president of the United States. The site is marked by a Virginia Historical Marker, which indicates it as Jefferson's birthplace. Along with
Clifton, it has been named to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Before early colonists moved into the Shadwell area during the
colonial era,
Monacan people had trails that traversed present-day Shadwell. Jefferson's father,
Peter Jefferson, established and named the Shadwell plantation in the mid-18th century. Four generations of the Jefferson family lived at Shadwell, which was initially a plantation, where both enslaved and free people grew tobacco, grain, and clover.
Shadwell later became a grist mill, sawmill, and carding factory, which expanded its economy. Canals and locks were constructed in the Rivanna River to transport goods, including lumber, flour, grain, and cotton-yard. After the carding factory burned down in the 1850s and the
Louisa Railroad was completed, Shadwell began to decline economically. After that, the Shadwell estate became a farm, operated by Downing Smith. In 1991, an archaeological study found remnants of foundations and cellars of two houses, one of which is believed to be the original house where
Peter Jefferson and his son Thomas lived and worked.
Also Located in the Shadwell, Virginia area are the
Clifton and
Edge Hill historic homes.
History
Pre-settlement
Monacan Native American people had trails that crossed through what is now Shadwell.
The Jeffersons
There were three or four early
colonial Virginia people who owned Shadwell before it was purchased by
Peter Jefferson, the father of
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
. Shadwell began as a crossroads settlement, located at the intersection of
Three Notch'd and Old Mountain Roads, which may also be called Turkey Sag.
It was named for the
Shadwell parish in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
by Peter Jefferson, a colonist and
planter in central Virginia. Shadwell is the parish in England where his wife
Jane Randolph
Jane Randolph (née Roemer; October 30, 1914 – May 4, 2009), was an American film actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Alice Moore in the 1942 horror film ''Cat People (1942 film), Cat People'', and its sequel, ''The Curse of the ...
had been christened.
[ Randall, Willard Sterne. ''Thomas Jefferson, A Life,'' New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1993. p. 7] Peter Jefferson purchased 1,200 acres in 1736 and had 1,400 acres for his main plantation through a May 16, 1741 purchase.
Peter married his wife in 1739 and completed the one-and-a-half-story house at Shadwell by about 1741.
Shadwell was the birthplace of
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
.
Peter Jefferson built a gristmill on the
Rivanna River about 1757.
Native American leaders, including
Ontasseté often stopped at Shadwell to visit with Peter Jefferson on their way to
Colonial Williamsburg.
When his father died, Thomas Jefferson inherited the property on April 13, 1764. Until 1776, the year of his mother's death, he leased the property from Jane Randolph Jefferson because she had a life estate for the property.
Between 1765 and 1794, Thomas operated Shadwell as a tobacco plantation, led by overseer who was chosen to conduct work humanely and work performed in 1774 by six slaves. At that time, he had 18 slaves, but 12 of them were too old or too young to work. He also hired free men to work on the plantation.
The estate included houses for slaves, tobacco barns, stables, mills, and gardens.
In 1770, the Jeffersons' house at Shadwell was destroyed in a fire, and Jane built a smaller house as a replacement. Thomas lived at Shadwell until the fire, at which time he removed to Monticello.
During a fire at Shadwell, Jefferson lost almost all of his books and all of his papers.
Although he did not live at Shadwell after the fire, Jefferson continued to operate Shadwell as a farm, where he grew and rotated crops of clover, corn, and wheat.
Manufacturing
Shadwell became a manufacturing town, with timber, tobacco, cotton-yard and flour being transported on the Rivanna River.
A dam, mill, and half-mile mill race were built on the
Rivanna River by Peter Jefferson about 1757. Canals and locks were used at Shadwell for transportation of goods on the Rivanna River from 1789 until the 1860s.
Jefferson operated a grist mill, saw mill, and carding factory until 1826 (year of his death). By 1835, Shadwell was home to a large carding factory employing 100 workers, a large merchant mill, and a sawmill. It also had several general stores at Shadwell, shops, and private dwellings. The town prospered until 1850, when the factory burned and was shut down permanently. The town was a minor railroad center, but Shadwell also began to decline after
Louisa Railroad, which paralleled Three Notch'd Road, came to the area in the 1840s.
Late 19th century and 20th century
Shadwell became focused once again on farming when Downing Smith of
Greene County purchased 230 acres of Shadwell land in 1879. The following year he built a house near the site of the original Jefferson house. He came to own a total of 1035 acres of land from Shadwell and the
Edge Hill plantation of the
Randolph family of Virginia.
After
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Shadwell grew as people began taking vacations by traveling by automobile.
The railroad depot at Shadwell was closed in 1932.
In 1991, an archaeological study began at the site of the Jefferson's Shadwell plantation.
Two cellar foundations were found, one of which is believed to be that of the first Jefferson house.
See also
*
Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants
Notes
References
Further reading
*
* architectural history study for Prof. William Kelso, University of Virginia
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External links
{{Authority control
Burned buildings and structures in the United States
Homes of United States Founding Fathers
Houses in Albemarle County, Virginia
Jefferson family residences
Presidential homes in the United States