Montpelier, the home of James Madison, will undergo a $30 million restoration over the next four years, returning the mansion to its original 1820s condition.
The majority of the restoration money, $20 million, will be provided by the estate of philanthropist Paul Mellon. A federal program will donate an additional $1 million, and the remaining money will be raised through fund-raising efforts.
Madison, the fourth president, is known as the father of the Constitution, the author of the Bill of Rights and the chief architect of the American republic. The mansion, about four miles southwest of the town of Orange, is part of a 2,750-acre estate with more than 130 buildings.
— Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Note: The coalition held what was to be its first annual access conference at Montpelier in 1999. This year will mark the coalition’s sixth annual conference, to be held in Willliamsburg, on the William and Mary campus, on Nov. 11 and 12.)