Current Seasonal Hours

April - October 31
9:00 am - 5:30 pm, first tour at 10:00, last tour at 4:00
Closed Monday, except holidays

Home of the Father of the Constitution and America's first First Lady

MONTPELIER was home to President James Madison, “Father of the Constitution” and Dolley Madison, America’s “first” First Lady.

It was here at Montpelier where James Madison first imagined the Constitution, spending six months in his upstairs library researching governments, organizing his thoughts into what he believed were the ideal principles for a representative democracy. Madison’s ideas would become the “Virginia Plan,” and later the framework for the Constitution.

The Montpelier estate features the mansion, garden, historic buildings, exhibits, archaeological sites, and forests trails. Spend an hour or two—or a full day with family and friends—strolling the grounds, picnicking, and learning more about the Constitution, James Madison, and Montpelier.