James Madison's Montpelier We The People Fall 2017 WTP_fall 2017_FINAL-rgb | Page 15

FALL 2017
PRESERVING THE MADISON LANDSCAPE
From the founding of The Montpelier Foundation
in 2000 to today, we have worked to preserve and
interpret the Madisonian architecture and landscape.
After Dolley Madison was forced to sell the
plantation in 1844 due to mounting debts, the
property passed through several hands, each
leaving their own mark on the House, Temple,
and grounds. Starting in 2003, the main house
underwent a $24 million, five-year restoration—the
largest in the country at the time. This restoration
required the undoing of over 150 years of changes
and the removal of twentieth-century additions to
the historic house which amounted to over 15,000
square feet. Doors, windows, and other architectural
features were inspected, investigated, and ultimately
returned to their original Madison-era locations.
While the restoration of the House concluded in
2009, this level of care continues in the restoration
of Mr. Madison’s Temple, the only other surviving
Madison-era building on the property. We began
investigating the Temple in the summer of 2015,
and began the full restoration of the Temple that
fall with a generous gift from Forrest E. Mars, Jr.
Built in 1810 by James Dinsmore, an Irish joiner
and carpenter, it is an architectural gem that
requires the highest level of care and consideration.
Like the restoration of the House, our goal is to “do
no harm” when it comes to the surviving Madison-
era material. The utmost care has been taken to
engineer a new roof substructure that protects the
original framing while allowing us to install new
shingles to prolong the life of the building.
Like the Temple and House, the landscape is also
under restoration. Archaeological excavations
continue to inform the site, and with the support of
David Rubenstein, we’ve been able to jumpstart the
restoration of the Madisonian landscape through the
reconstruction of the outbuildings in the South Yard.
While the landscape may change as we restore it,
one thing remains the same: our commitment to
preserving and interpreting Montpelier.
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