Highland - Charlottesville

James Monroe's Highland is located on James Monroe Parkway in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Motivated by Thomas Jefferson, Monroe purchased this land, which sits next to Jefferson's Monticello, in 1793.  His family moved onto the property in 1799, and lived here for the next 24 years.  The one story wooden house eventually grew to include several additions, a uets house and slave quarters.  His land holding grew as well, from the initial 1,00 acres he originally purchased, to over 3,500 acres at its peak.  During the time he owned Highland, Monroe was at the peak of his political career, serving as Governor of Virginia in 1811, Secretary of State from 1811 to 1817, Secretary of War from 1814 to 1815 and President of the United States from 1817 to 1825.  Chronic debts plagued Monroe and after 1815 he was forced to sell parcels of land to make ends meet.  By 1825 he was in such debt that he was forced to sell the property, at which time he retired and moved to his home Oak Hill.  The house saw a number of owners through the years, including Alexander Garrett, who renamed the property Ash Lawn, and John Massey, who configured the property to its current appearance.  Massey's victorian mansion, built in 1870, still stands, as does the guest house, which was erected around 1818.  The main house, however, no longer stands and is thought to have burned down in a fire in the early 1830's.  Its foundation has been rediscovered in recent years, located in front of the Massey house, and its design is clearly marked by stones.  It stretches across the front lawn and into the present location of the Massey House, which was built on a portion of the land which the main house once stood.  The 500 remaining acres of Highland are today owned by the College of William and Mary and run as a museum.  Highland was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1973.      

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