Qualla: Highland (James Monroe House)

Highland (James Monroe House): Introduction

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jameskincaid, CC BY-SA 4.0. For more than a century, visitors to James Monroe's plantation walked through a modest wooden building and tried to square it with the ambitions of a Founding Father and fifth president of the United States. The rooms were small, the ceilings low. It did not look like the home of a man who had served as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, and secretary of war before winning the presidency. Then, in 2015, archaeologists dug into the earth beside that building and found the foundation of a much larger house buried underneath the lawn. The home everyone had been touring was never Monroe's residence. It was his guest house.

Image: Jameskincaid | CC BY-SA 4.0

Highland (James Monroe House): Jefferson's Neighbor by Design

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 3.0. James Monroe bought one thousand acres adjacent to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in 1793 for one thousand pounds, purchasing the land from the Carter family. The parcel had once belonged to the nearly 10,000-acre land grant of Secretary John Carter. Jefferson encouraged the purch...

Image: Billy Hathorn | CC BY-SA 3.0

Highland (James Monroe House): The Wrong House

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The archaeological discovery in 2015 rewrote Highland's story. Excavators unearthed nails, fragments of home furnishings, and a significant amount of bottle glass and ceramic pieces dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries -- the Monroe era. The foundation they uncovere...

Image: Public domain

Highland (James Monroe House): Debt and Departure

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vogler, CC BY-SA 4.0. Public service cost Monroe dearly. Years of diplomatic postings, a governorship, and the presidency itself drained his personal finances. By 1825, personal debt forced him to sell Highland. Edward O. Goodwin purchased the property at twenty dollars an acre and renamed it "North B...

Image: Vogler | CC BY-SA 4.0

Highland (James Monroe House): A Living Landscape

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Riis2602, CC BY-SA 4.0. Today Highland is a 535-acre working farm, museum, and performing arts venue operated by Monroe's alma mater, the College of William and Mary. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Visitors walk the grounds year-round, though hours are limite...

Image: Riis2602 | CC BY-SA 4.0