Shadwell, Birthplace of Thomas Jefferson

Shadwell, Birthplace of Thomas Jefferson is a Virginia historical marker in Albemarle County, dedicated 2001.

Rte. 250, about a quarter mile west of the VDOT headquarters entrance

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Thomas Jefferson--author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia--was born near this site on 13 April 1743. His father, Peter Jefferson (1708-1757), a surveyor, planter, and officeholder, began acquiring land in this frontier region in the mid-1730s and had purchased the Shadwell tract by 1741. Peter Jefferson built a house soon after, and the Shadwell plantation became a thriving agricultural estate. Thomas Jefferson spent much of his early life at Shadwell. After the house burned to the ground in 1770, he moved to Monticello, where he had begun constructing a house.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1755 · Virginie, Maryland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1794 · Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1865 · Central Virginia showing Lieut Gen'l U.S. Grant's Campaign and Marches. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1889 · Virginia and West Virginia (eastern portion). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1892 · Gordonsville, Virginia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Virginie, Maryland, 1755, covering the location of Shadwell, Birthplace of Thomas Jefferson, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Virginie, Maryland, 1755, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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Shadwell, Birthplace of Thomas Jefferson

Historical maps covering this location

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