Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and an influential Founding Father. Jefferson was 36 years old when elected Governor of Virginia by the legislature on June 1, 1779. Albemarle County is a well known birthplace and home of Thomas Jefferson. He designed both Monticello and the University of Virginia which both appear on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations World Heritage List.

Jefferson was husband to Martha Jefferson and the son of Jane (née Randolph) and Peter Jefferson.

Local influence

Jefferson's home was Albemarle County, and he is inexorably linked to Charlottesville-Albemarle.

Jefferson's notable influences on the area include:

• Owner and designer of Monticello.
• Founder of UVa.
• As U.S. President, champion of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806), including the selection of other local Meriwether Lewis.

Namesakes

Local

Many local streets, businesses and organizations are named in his honor:

United States

Jeffersonville, Indiana

Laid out in 1802, after a plan for an “ideal city” by Thomas Jefferson, Jeffersonville’s main street includes a variety of architectural styles, with Italianite the most prevalent. Also, Jeffersonville was once a hub of the Union Army. Old Jeffersonville Historic District was placed on the National Register in 1983, the district is bound by Court and Graham Streets, the Ohio River and Route 65.

Down river, Less than two miles, is Clarksville, IN and the George Rogers Clark home site (1803-1809). Located at the lower end of the Falls of The Ohio, Clark built a cabin in 1803 on a rocky point above the fall that now overlooks Corn Island and Louisville, which he founded in 1778. It was George Rogers Clark whom Thomas Jefferson first asked to lead an expedition to the Pacific in 1783. From this site Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the nucleus of the Corps of Discovery launched their expedition on October 26, 1803.

External links

Local reenactment business