Ash Lawn’s widely known boxwood garden is held, by local tradition, to
have been designed by a French landscape artist who during Monroe’s
presidency was engaged in work for Washington City. Certainly the old
formal planting and the size of the slow-growing dwarf box
(suffruticosa) do not clash with this belief.
The garden now is dominated by a marble statue of Monroe. This was
presented to the president’s home upon the hundredth anniversary of his
death, by the sculptor Attilio Piccirilli, whose work may be also seen
in the capitol in Richmond and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
[Illustration: Michie’s Old Tavern. _J. Rawlings Thomson_]
THE MICHIE TAVERN
_Rt. 53, Monticello Road_
This authentic eighteenth century tavern was moved, 1927, from its
original site on the Buck Mountain Road in North Albemarle to its
present location on Monticello Road. Before-and-after photographs show
that while some later tamperings were done away with, the original
structure was scrupulously preserved—with the exception of the cellar,
whose massive slave masonry it was not possible to transport or
reproduce.
This tavern bears the name of William Michie, son of the John Michie of
Louisa County who in 1746 bought a one thousand, one hundred and
fifty-two acre tract in that region from John Henry of Hanover County,
father of Patrick Henry. John Michie made his home in this region in a
great river bend, and named it the Horse Shoe. His sons shared in the
development of the tract, and John Michie’s will, 1777, provided that
each son should be confirmed in ownership of the acres he had brought
under cultivation, before equal distribution of the remainder.
William Michie inherited in the Buck Mountain section, lived there, and
on November 11, 1784, petitioned the court for “License to keep ordinary
in my house.” William Michie became a large landowner, served as
Magistrate and Sheriff, and died in 1811.
This old building displays an interesting exhibit of the accustomed
furnishings of that period.
[Illustration: Lewis and Clark Statue. 1919.]