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As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, a rare and timely opportunity arises to share a story that has never been fully told—the story of horses of Monticello. This book opens a window into Thomas Jefferson’s world, where horses were not only essential to transportation and farming, but also to the rhythm of daily life at Monticello. Horses of Monticello is more than history on a page. It brings to life the elegance, utility, and symbolism of horses in early America, connecting Jefferson’s mountaintop home to the broader story of the nation’s founding. The book offers readers an intimate glimpse of the animals that carried ideas, goods, and people across a growing country, illuminating the deep relationship between horses and the American experiment in liberty.
Dr. Carrie Bess Douglass is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Mary Baldwin University and the University of Virginia. She began her research about Jefferson’s horses in 2008 as a Fellow at the International Center of Jefferson Studies, located at Monticello. She is the author of The Horses of Monticello: Equine Culture in Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia.
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