Six JMU alumni are helping give James Madison's Montpelier a face-lift like no other. A full-scale restoration project at the president's historic home will dismantle layers of paint, wallpaper and even walls and rooms, to restore the mansion to its original design and make the presence of James Madison more tangible.

Montpelier has gone through many renovations since James Madison's father built the original eight-room redbrick home for his family 244 years ago. In 1901, the William duPont family purchased the home, and over the course of 82 years the family expanded the home to a 55-room estate. Twenty years ago Montpelier was bequeathed to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the museum and home have since hosted thousands of visitors, including ABC's Good Morning America.

The restoration project, featured on CNN,
will return the mansion to the original majestic characteristics that the Father of the Constitution would have recognized in the 1820s. The project is expected to take four years, and an investigation of the home has revealed that the foundational architecture and design of the original home are very much intact.

Though many of the existing rooms, architecture and appearance will be altered, historians eagerly look forward to viewing the home in its original state, revealing old wallpaper, doorways and fireplaces. "Visiting the restored house will be liberating," says renowned Madison historian Ralph Ketcham. "Right now, you're always trying to look past the duPont business."

The restoration project will not overlook the influence of the duPont family. Plans include a William duPont Art Gallery. Marion duPont Scott was the last remaining occupant of Montpelier, and her final wish was that the mansion be restored to its original design. The restoration of the home will include three Madison-era segments: the core built by James Madison Sr. in 1760, the rooms added in the late 1790s and two one-story wings added to the home around 1809.

"We are proud to have six JMU alumni working on the restoration project," says Matt Reeves, director of the Montpelier Archaeology Department. "They're conducting archaeology in areas that will be disturbed by the restoration, including excavations under the portico and in the back yard."

C. Thomas Chapman ('97), Stephanie Berg Donnan ('01), Kevin Fogle ('01), Melissa Rich ('03), Kimberly Sancomb Tinkam ('01) and Megan Veness ('03) are part of a staff of 15 archaeologists working to bring part of the past alive. Veness, who with other archaeologists, believes they have found an abandoned well and paths from the slave quarters to the mansion, says, "After this restoration, Montpelier will express the same kind of dedication to the Founding Fathers as Mount Vernon and Monticello."

Veness is a former JMU Archaeology Field School participant who conducted student work at Montpelier. She joined the Montpelier staff as an archaeological field technician and is conducting 5-foot-square shovel test pits on areas of the property that will be affected by heavy equipment. Her team has found a bone knife handle, a glass inkwell and numerous bone and ceramic pieces.

Story by Kelly Rose ('04)

Design by Kristen Daniel ('05)

Images courtesy: Montpelier Foundation Architectural Research Foundation and PartSense Inc.

www.montpelieresearch.org