Montpelier

11407 Constitution Hwy., P.O. Box 67

Montpelier Station, VA  22957

540-672-2728

James and Dolley Madison lived at Montpelier with his mother in a house originally built by his father. In Orange County, the house sits on a rise with a sweeping view of the distant Blue Ridge Mountains. The grounds and gardens remained a continuing and important interest to both of them. Dolley Madison’s niece reported their formal terraced garden was laid out in a horseshoe shape. After Mr. and Mrs. William duPont purchased the estate in 1901, they embellished this garden by adding a brick wall with elaborate gates, walks and steps, and sculpture such as urns and lions. Their garden also included perennial beds and rose arbors. Their daughter left the property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1983. The Garden Club undertook the restoration of the duPonts’ formal garden in the early 1990s. Today the garden displays a succession of blooming perennials through the season and also includes the duPonts’ ornamental additions.