Remembering The Two Jewish Guys Who Saved Jefferson's Monticello from Ruin - Twice

[JPZenger]

"Two members of a Jewish family, Uriah Levy and Jefferson Levy, bought Monticello at two different times when it was on the verge of ruin. Both Levys spent large sums of money restoring it, and opened it to visitors. The role of the Levy family in saving and restoring Monticello is one of the best-kept secrets of American historic preservation."

This post is based upon articles in Preservation Magazine at the following links:

http://www.monticello.org/about/levytoday.html

http://www.monticello.org/about/levy.html

Left with debts, Jefferson's family had put Monticello up for sale in 1828. There were no interested buyers until it was bought by a man in 1831 to start a silkwood farm. His business failed and he put the property back on the market. The property was vacant for the next 3 years.

Uriah Levy was a naval lieutenant from the north. Jefferson was Levy's personal hero, largely because Jefferson was such a strong advocate for religious freedom. Levy had already paid for a statue of Jefferson for the US Capitol. In 1836, Levy came to see Monticello and found it deserted and dilapidated. He learned it was for sale and decided on the spot to buy it. He put together a small army of workers to restore the building, the grounds and the famous clock in the entrance hall.

People in Charlottesville were suspicious about Levy's motives and many false rumors spread.

During the Civil War, the Confederacy seized Monticello as property of "an alien enemy" and sold it to a local man who stabled cattle in the basement and stored grain inside the drawing rooms. Monticello went into ruin and many furnishings disappeared. The windows were broken and the roof was rotting. After the war and Levy's death, Monticello was supposed to be returned to his heirs, but it was still controlled by the local farmer for 17 years.

Levy left a will offering Monticello to the US Government for an agricultural school, but Congress refused to accept it. After infighting among the family, in 1879, Jefferson Monroe Levy of New York City, a young nephew of Uriah Levy, bought the house. When Jefferson Levy took possession, Monticello was in even worse shape than in 1836.

Fortunately, Jefferson Levy had the funds to properly restore Monticello and hired an expert engineer. Jefferson Levy later went on to serve 3 terms in Congress representing New York. He maintained an agent in Europe to buy furniture and art for Monticello, and had woodwork handcrafted to replace stolen items. He also installed central heat and indoor plumbing.

In 1880, Levy opened Monticello for visitors, for a 25 cent fee that he donated to charity. By 1906, Monticello was attracting 50,000 visitors a year, including Teddy Roosevelt who rode on horseback up the mountain.

Several articles were published attacking Levy for keeping Monticello in private ownership, including false claims that he was motivated by greed. The articles set a tone that a Jew should not own a national treasure, and they spread lies that the estate was falling into ruin. One article inferred that Levy spoke with a thick accent of a recent immigrant and claimed he has used deceit to acquire the site. There was an effort in Congress to have the Federal Government take Monticello by eminent domain.

Eventually, Levy gave into the pressure and in 1923 agreed to sell Monticello for $500,000 to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. He estimated this price was about half what he had spent buying, restoring and maintaining the site. Levy had tears in his eyes as he sold it.

The Foundation completed the restoration of Monticello over decades. However, the Levy’s important role in caring for the property was almost totally ignored. It wasn't until 1985 that the Thomas Jefferson Foundation officially recognized the Levy family.

"There was tremendous anti-Semitic feeling because of the fact that a Jew owned the house," said Harley Lewis, a Levy relative. Susan Stein, Monticello's curator, agreed. "There was anti-Semitism in Monticello's history, just as there is everywhere at the upper reaches of American society," says Stein.

The Levys’ importance may have been ignored because many Virginians did not want to admit that their ancestors had ignored Monticello for so many decades, and that New Yorkers had saved the historic site.

[mix]

1. Very interesting, thanks for posting!

[rockymountaindem]

2. Interesting story

Thanks for posting it.