In 1901 the duPont family of Delaware bought Montpelier, expanded the main house, and constructed dozens of buildings across the property. These included multiple types of barns, other agricultural and horticultural buildings and workspaces, kennels, and —crucially —housing for the local African-American workers they hired for the skilled labor and knowledge necessary to make their vision of the property a reality. 

Montpelier is slowly losing most of these historic buildings, nearly all built before 1908, to neglect. In total there are over 120 structures across the property, with only 27 monitored on a regular basis. Prior to further deterioration of these structures, the Montpelier Foundation will be conducting an intensive photographic campaign to allow for the recording of existing conditions, and to develop a photographic catalog that can be used for photogrammetry. 

As part of this project, participants in this one-week program will be trained to architecturally examine the duPont tenant housing and record existing conditions. All interiors will be photographed, architectural details recorded, floorplans created, rooms numbered, and threats to buildings will be assessed, along with recommendations for stabilization. All of this information will be compiled into albums digitally tagged for association with future detailed 3D digital models of these structures for Montpelier’s ongoing GIS projects. The week will include specialized lectures and tours relating to historic architecture, including the Montpelier main house and the Gilmore Cabin, a 19th century freedman’s cabin. Participants will use equipment including drones and DSLR cameras, with the program ending in an opportunity to try and reconstruct the structure they documented.

If you have additional questions, please email us at dig@montpelier.org.

Here at Montpelier Archaeology, we have a passion for working with the public to discover and preserve the historic landscape of the Madisons' era, as well as exploring the daily lifeways of those that lived and worked within it. Join us in using material culture study to recreate the way Montpelier's past residents built, furnished, and ate each day. In addition to working with period material culture first-hand, our Reconstruct Expedition programs include specialty lectures and tours not available to the typical Montpelier visitor. Engage with the material culture of everyday life in the 18th, 19th, or even the early 20th century!