Council for Statesmanship Tours Madison’s Home
April 16th, 2008
| CONTACT: | David Halbrook Patrick Henry College (540) 338-8727 OfficeOfCommunications@phc.edu |
James Madison's home, Montpelier
Donors tour the estate
The gardens at Montpelier
Dr. John Warwick Montgomery presents
Donors and supporters of Patrick Henry College enjoyed a beautiful, 70-degree day of sunshine at James Madison’s Montpelier estate, April 11th at the 2008 Council for Statesmanship. The historic, 2,650-acre estate, located in Orange County, Va., is currently undergoing massive restoration to its original appearance, the familiar haven of eighteenth-century royalty, heads of state, and visiting dignitaries feted by esteemed U.S. founder and constitutional framer James Madison and his wife Dolly.
Council guests arrived to find a busy archeological excavation of the adjoining fields, gardens, and slave quarters underway, carefully staged to restore the manor grounds to their original state. Montpelier itself was undergoing a facelift, excavated from underneath a lavish complex of DuPont mansion additions that, during the twentieth century, hid the original Madison home from view. Workers are sweating under a Sept. 17, 2008 construction deadline, when a crowd of dignitaries will convene to commemorate Constitution Day.
After morning and afternoon tours and lunch at Montpelier, College supporters returned by bus to Patrick Henry for an evening filled with entertainment, fine dining, keynote addresses, and a private movie screening. Guests enjoyed a stirring performance by the PHC Chorale, a keynote address by famed Christian apologist and PHC philosophy professor, Dr. John Warwick Montgomery, and a private screening of a section of the movie, Come What May, from Advent Film Group founder George Escobar. Michael Holcomb, a College alum who worked on the film, and Rachel Heflin, a PHC student and award-winning debater, each delivered addresses thanking donors for their support of the College.
***
