Archaeology at the Tobacco Barn

Artist's impression of tobacco barn and slave quarters overlaid onto photograph of area south of the Visitors Center.
[Click picture for larger picture.]

When archaeologists conducted metal detector surveys in a field just down the hill from the visitor center, they located a high number of nails in an area with no trash debris from a living spot (such as would be left around a slave quarter). This led to the conclusion that, while the site was the location for a building, it was not an area of a residence. When this information was coupled with an 1871 visitor account describing an abandoned tobacco barn somewhere along the old road trace between the Madison Family Cemetery and the rear of the formal garden, this led to the possibility the site for a tobacco barn. Its prominent place on a ridge where the structure could catch available breezes for drying the tobacco supported this interpretation of archaeological and historical evidence.

During the 18th century, tobacco was the major cash crop produced at the plantation. The structures used for curing the crop were well built to ensure that crops were not exposed to rain or other damaging elements. Ironically, as evidenced by the 1871 visitor account that recalls the tobacco barn being the only extant structure in this area, these structures outlasted slave quarters and even the overseer's house. While tobacco continued to be grown at Montpelier in the early 19th century, its dominance was replaced by grains and corn crops.