Origins

Our home was designed by renowned Savannah architect John Deering of Homeline architecture.

It is inspired by drawings Thomas Jefferson gave to William Madison, a brother of James Madison. The original house at Woodberry Forest School in Virginia has served as the headmaster's residence and, over time, has been altered. But the simple, Palladian approach of three rooms to the left and two rooms to the right remain visible and we have incorporated this into Montimello.

Our version has such modern amenities as a kitchen (which often was a separate building in Jefferson's day) and bathrooms!

The Residence

Thomas Jefferson designed this compact plantation house for William Madison, who was James Madison's brother, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. It was built in 1793 as seven-room house in a geometric configuration that was the hallmark of Jefferson's residential design. The original unacademic two-column portico suggests, however, that Jefferson's plan was not fully executed.

In 1870 the property was purchased by Robert Stringfellow Walker, who remodeled the house in 1884. It was here that Walker founded Woodberry Forest School in 1889, naming it after the Madison plantation. The house was renamed the Residence and became the headmaster’s house. Walker hired a tutor to educate his six sons and neighboring children. The first classes were taught in a room of The Residence. Additions made in 1884 changed the effect from Palladian to Victorian. Other renovations in 1948 created a large drawing room by eliminating partitions between three rooms, one of which was used as a back porch by the Madison family.

The Residence is located within the Woodberry Forest School, in Woodberry Forest and is the private residence of the headmaster.