The third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, loved trees. He planted over 160 species at his home, Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia.
This is one of those historic trees. I don't know if this tree was alive when Jefferson was alive (he passed away on July 4, 1826 at the age of 83) but it wouldn't surprise me.
I've been to Monticello three times, the last time being May 1, 2019, when I took a picture of this paper mulberry tree. Sadly, a lot of the labor at Monticello was performed by enslaved people (slavery was legal during Jefferson's lifetime and for years beyond), and, possibly, this tree may have been one that witnessed the sufferings of those people.
There are a number of mystery plants in the history of Thomas Jefferson and Monticello, as detailed in this article.
Joining up with Parul at Happiness and Food for her #ThursdayTreeLove, held the second and fourth Thursday of the month. Please note, due to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge in April, I will resume Thursday Tree Love posts in May.
...wouldn't it be correct to say that "all" of the labor at Monticello was done by enslaved Africans?
ReplyDeleteThomas Jefferson used the labor of some 600 enslaved people over his lifetime, true. It's my understanding that there was a small contingent of free labor, some of whom may have been indentured servants who had reached the end of their indenture periods. So, perhaps "almost all" would be more accurate.
DeleteGreat old tree! By the way: I've learned about Th. Jefferson and Monticello from a criminal nouvel by Rita Mae Brown and her co-author, the cat Sneaky Pie Browqn (I like all these books!). Never seen a real photo from this place before.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Germany
https://www.amazon.de/Mord-Monticello-Fall-Murphy-Mrs-Murphy-Krimi-ebook/dp/B077KBJL5V/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=3QPUOGCRLTDLL&keywords=Rita+Mae+Brown+Mord+in+Monticello&qid=1648132450&s=books&sprefix=rita+mae+brown+mord+in+monticello%2Cstripbooks%2C204&sr=1-2
Thank you, Mascha. I am looking at descriptions of this book now. It also mentions the town of Crozet, which I have been to. I am going to add this book to my "to be read" stack.
DeleteI wonder what all this historic tree might have witnessed in its' lifetime!! Thank you for sharing this slice of history with us today, Alana.
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to stop by your blog for the second time today. :)
Lovely tree photo ~ Xo
ReplyDeleteWishing you love and laughter in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
I wonder how long such trees live.
ReplyDeleteGreat tree
ReplyDeleteWow! What memories thisctree must have!! Thanks for sharing this with us!!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful historic tree like this one must have a hundred thousand stories to share! Thank you for sharing this lovely capture, Alana.
ReplyDeleteWow! this must be an old tree. Thanks Alana. I always love that you bring history and such good details to your posts. Thank you for joining!
ReplyDeleteThat's a tree with a lot of character. You've captured it well.
ReplyDelete