Ancient Field [ View Interactive Version ]

The Ancient (or as Jefferson wrote it "Antient") Field on the Northeast side of Monticello Mountain was first farmed under the direction of Jefferson's father, Peter, beginning in the early 1740s as an extension of the Shadwell Plantation's tobacco cultivation. At this time, a small group of slaves was settled southeast of the field.

In 1770, when Jefferson began construction of his house, Shadwell became part of the larger Monticello Plantation. Jefferson kept tobacco as the plantation's main crop but redistributed his work force. The early settlement expanded to the south, and a new settlement was added nearby.

In the early 1790s, Jefferson initiated a major transition from the cultivation of tobacco to that of grain. The system of crop rotation and seasonal plantings required by this switch forced Jefferson to also rework the plantation's labor force and to relocate existing slave settlements. At this time, the settlements in the Ancient Field seemed to be abandoned, except for what appears to be the house of an overseer.