{"nrhp_refnum":"66000843","name":"Montpelier","other_names":["James Madison Home"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"4 mi. W of Orange on VA 20","address_restricted":false,"city":"Orange","county":"Orange County","state":"VA","lat":38.218763266500076,"lon":-78.17219605101619,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1960-12-19","areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Montpelier is the historic estate and mansion of President James Madison near Montpelier Station, about four miles west of Orange on Virginia Route 20 in Orange County, Virginia. The nominated district covers about 1,767 acres; Madison's father built the central portion of the house.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the property is significant as the home of President James Madison for 76 years, including 19 years of retirement after his presidency. It also notes that Thomas Jefferson designed the portico for his friend Madison. The area of significance is checked as Political, and the period as the 18th century.","narrative":"Montpelier is the Orange County, Virginia, estate where James Madison lived for 76 years. Madison was born in King George County in 1751 and moved to Orange County with his parents in 1760, where his father built the central portion of the house. Apart from his years of public service, including the Continental Congress, Secretary of State and the presidency from 1809 to 1817, he remained at Montpelier. In retirement he and his wife Dolly received a steady stream of visitors. Madison landscaped the grounds and enlarged the mansion with a large Doric portico, which Thomas Jefferson designed, and one-room wings on each side, along with outbuildings on a 4,500-acre estate. Madison died there in 1836, and Dolly Madison was later buried beside him. The nominated district covers about 1,767 acres. It was recognized for its association with Madison and his political career. The grounds and mansion were reported in excellent condition and carefully maintained.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Portico designed by Thomas Jefferson; central portion built by Madison's father","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Privately owned and occupied as a private residence, not open to visitors except the Madison family cemetery; condition marked excellent, with landscaped grounds and the mansion carefully maintained.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:58.090073-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/6790/41679097/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/66000843_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000843/9c8737b15e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000843/9c8737b15e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Carole J. Buckwalter","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Madison%27s_Montpelier.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Carole J. Buckwalter</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Madison%27s_Montpelier.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679097","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montpelier_(Orange,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2469085"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/orange-county/montpelier-66000843/"}