Author: JamesM

One of the hallmarks of Highland is collaboration between staff and a Council of Descendant Advisors, made up of individuals who trace their African-American ancestors to Highland either during slavery or after the Civil War. In response to discussions about Read More …

The historic furnishings at Highland reflect significant parts of Monroe’s public and private lives. The rich collection of objects is presented in rooms that were re-curated in 2021 to reflect the major research discoveries about Highland’s physical history. Decorative arts Read More …

Explore the life and legacy of James Monroe through The World of James Monroe Online, a collaborative project of James Monroe’s Highland and William & Mary Libraries. This open-access digital collection provides free access to original documents written by or Read More …

  The 2025 archaeological field season completed a deep excavation to explore the cellar of the 1799 Main House. Resting on the cellar’s clay floor, several well-defined areas of heavily burned wood may represent furniture that burned during the catastrophic Read More …

A 2022 dataset and accompanying descriptive peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation presents the known documentary references to people enslaved by James Monroe throughout his lifetime. Some of the enslaved individuals recorded in this work are Read More …

Highland’s story is summarized in an entry in Encyclopedia Virginia. This is a great place to start for history from Monroe’s ownership through recent excavations that discovered the lost and forgotten 1799 Main House.      https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/highland/ Courtesy of Read More …

The 2025 archaeological field season completed a deep excavation of a portion of the cellar of the Monroes’ main house from 1799. The cellar was part of the house that was destroyed by fire, likely late in 1829. It was Read More …