While it is sometimes overlooked in the Thomas Jefferson biographies, Tuckahoe was where the author of the Declaration of Independence and the 3rd president of the United States spent a number of his childhood years. Thomas and his family lived at Tuckahoe for approximately 7 years from 1745-1752. Though the Jeffersons lived here during that time, they were never owners of the property. Tuckahoe was owned by the Randolphs, one of the founding families in early Virginia.
Besides being particularly good friends, the Jeffersons and the Randolphs were related as well. Jane Randolph (Thomas’ mother) was the cousin of William Randolph who is credited with building the Tuckahoe house that we see today. In 1745, a widowed William beseeched Peter Jefferson (Thomas’ father) to live at Tuckahoe to look after his young children after his death. Randolph passed away soon thereafter, and the Jefferson family left their own home at Shadwell (which once stood in the area next to Monticello in Charlottesville, VA) and came to live at Tuckahoe. Young Thomas would have been about 2 years old at the time. Alongside his siblings and Randolph cousins, Thomas would later receive his first formal education in the schoolhouse on the property. Once his cousin, Thomas Mann Randolph, was deemed of age (at age 11) to manage the property on a day-to-day basis, the Jefferson family left Tuckahoe and returned to Shadwell.
As an adult, Thomas returned to Tuckahoe to visit on occasion. It was likely considered a family home (especially after Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Martha, married her cousin, Thomas Mann II). Additionally, Tuckahoe would have served as a convenient stop along his travels to Richmond and perhaps Williamsburg. Records also indicate that Jefferson’s family (and perhaps Jefferson himself) was staying at Tuckahoe at various points during his time as governor of Virginia in 1781.
While we have very few references to Thomas’ time here as a boy, he was certainly at Tuckahoe during a very impressionable period in his life. It is quite possible that what he saw and experienced here at Tuckahoe would have influenced him in later years, especially when it came to his architectural design. It is also quite possible that young Jefferson first developed his love of nature and gardening when he was exploring the vast property of Tuckahoe. With so much of the main house unchanged, it is easy to walk inside and imagine a young Jefferson running up and down the stairs (or perhaps sliding down the banister if he was feeling particularly daring!) or to envision him walking by some of the same original outbuildings that still stand along Plantation Street. We encourage you to book a tour and visit this beautiful and historic site for yourselves!
