Market Friday: We the People at Montpelier

over 2 years ago (Edited)

Welcome to Montpelier, the plantation house of President James Madison and his wife, Dolly. You can find it tucked into the rolling landscape of Orange County in Virginia, at 11350 Constitution Highway, Montpelier Station 22957. The house itself is a museum of American history and a center for constitutional education. Montpelier encourages engagement with the public demonstrating the enduring legacy of Madison's most powerful idea: Government by the people.

James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, expansionist, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the United States Bill of Rights. He co-wrote The Federalist Papers, co-founded the Democratic-Republican Party, and served as the fifth United States Secretary of State from 1801 to 1809. source

Today is #MarketFriday initiated by @dswigle (Denise, that's me!!) Join me as we share our markets across the globe. I always look forward to seeing what you send me! It is amazing to see the different markets and cultures of our friends here on Hive.

Central Virginia was very popular among the Founding Fathers of our nation. Good friends and great thinkers, it was only two miles that separated Thomas Jefferson’s estate, Monticello, and James Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highland plantation outside of the town of Charlottesville. James Madison’s Montpelier was 30 miles away.

Montpelier's grounds, gardens, and trails are free and open to the public during their normal operating hours. A guided house tour is $22.00/adults; $9.00/children 6-14; and children 5 & under are free. Tickets bought in advance get $2.00 off

The structure in the picture below is a temple, which is truly beautiful as well as useful. It is built on top of an ice house, in a 24-foot deep pit below, where it protects it from the hot sun, and, it gives the temple a cooler feel in the summer months. All these little features were pure genius, way back when.

While you are perusing around the marketplace, be sure to check out the posts of other #MarketFriday people. Everything they do, they do it for you. It is not much fun to post when you know that nobody is reading it. I read them all and have to admit that I learn a little something new every week. That and the added fact that you would be supporting another person's work.

Dinners at Montpelier was an elegant affair that served French-style and always shined a light of praise on James and Dolly Madison. It was their trained workers who spent hours upon hours of work preparing these meals, all in accordance with very strict guidelines. It has been said that the Madisons hosted lavish dinners, with up to 100 people and outshined anything they ever had at the White House.

The exchange of customs and the experience you gain from traveling abroad (even virtually) can give you life-long personal benefits. It can open your mind to cultures, unlike your own and give you a greater appreciation for them. I have a great curiosity to see the world and this has offered a great opportunity to see what it is like to barter for vegetables at the market or buying a cow to provide milk for the family. Differences, and much the same. You will shop in places you have never been to, and some, never even heard of. So, yes! I would love to see yours! Don't forget to take photos wherever you happen to be shopping, whether it be the grocery store, marketplace, art galleries, wherever money is exchanged for a service, or for merchandise. Don't forget to use the hashtag #MarketFriday and @dswigle somewhere in your post.

“Dinner for the Madisons,” is a new event at Montpelier’s dining room. I think that it gives you a better sense of the complexity of what it takes to put together the elegance that was part of being a guest of Dolly Madison. It is certainly interesting to learn these small interesting facts on these very public people.

The drawing room walls are covered in paintings and pictures, with many busts and plaster figures. It is probably my favorite room at Montpelier. It is unusual that it actually allows photography, so I am very grateful. Can you imagine being a guest in the Madison home? Honestly, the art alone is like walking through a museum.

You are given access to three rooms in the house, including where the Madisons hosted important historic figures of the day and where Madison wrote the Virginia Plan that would shape the Constitution.

James Madison is credited with creating our system of government that has survived almost 250 years.

Rules of the Road

I put these here for guidance for people. Any questions, ask.

Go to the market, or anywhere that you pay money for a service.
Take pictures! Be creative!
Tell us a little bit about the market or the event. What brought you there? What did you buy? How much did it cost?
Post the picture(s) Of course, you should tell a little bit about the ones you post
Use the MarketFriday Community Platform to post #hive-196308 (this is not required, but appreciated)

5.Drop the link into the MarketFriday comment section so I can find it

6.Following me and reblogging the post so more see it would be appreciated !! Not a rule, just appreciated, more vision for more views on your posts!

7.You must put #MarketFriday by @dswigle somewhere on your post. If you don't and someone reads it, there is nothing to tie #MarketFriday to that post. Pretty please?

Please leave the link to your post here with your comment so it can easily be found by others. It helps you and me to have them in one place. Where else can you take such a quick trip around the globe? Thank you so much for joining us!! ❤

Madison had many great accomplishments, yet he was still a flawed human being who struggled internally with owning slaves, but not enough to free them. It's thanks to Paul Jennings' (Madison's personal manservant) writings, that there is so much information available about the Madisons and their lives.

The gate to the beautiful formal gardens. Where there was once incredible beauty, the year of COVID took a toll on her gardens. Maybe I will wait til next season to post some.

As always, there must be flowers to color my world. #alwaysaflower

Thank you for taking a look into the life and living of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States of America. And just like that, this post is done. I hope you had a good time and learned a little something new. As always, I want to thank you for taking the time to visit, and just remember, #MarketFriday loves you! Thank you for supporting the challenge! Have a most fabulous day! Cheers!!

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Thank you for visiting my post 💖 Don't ever forget what an amazing world we live in, people. Some days, it is not so easy to see, how truly wonderful it really is. Always remember,kindness counts. Wherever you go, whatever you do.