‘Landmark of our founders’

By Allison Brophy Champion

Published: September 17, 2008

ORANGE — Citizens, children and statesmen gathered Wednesday to celebrate Constitution Day by unveiling a beautifully renovated Montpelier — beloved home of James Madison. View more

Amid blue skies and mild temperatures, 6,000 people flocked to the immense yard in front of the brick Georgian mansion, honoring the fourth president’s legacy as father of the Constitution and marveling at a restoration that spanned five years.

“If James Madison were here today, he would be proud that Montpelier stands with Mount Vernon and Monticello as landmarks of our founders,” said the Hon. John Roberts Jr., chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Speaking from a stately front porch that features a breathtaking view of the Blue Ridge, Roberts said Madison “was always drawn back to his roots at Montpelier. With this historic restoration, we can all understand why.”

The $24 million project, overseen by the Montpelier Foundation, stripped away 29 rooms, reshaping the home’s size, structure and form. Now, Montpelier appears as James and Dolley Madison knew it in the 1820s, shortly after they occupied the White House.

Sisters Mary Griffith of Richmond and Carolyn Jones of Virginia Beach said they were impressed with the restoration results, though both could remember when Montpelier looked much different under the previous ownership of the late Marion Scott duPont of the famed industrialist family.

“We were raised here,” Griffith said. “My father worked for Mrs. Scott for 50-some years, and we lived at a home on the edge of the property toward Somerset.”

“I’m getting used to it,” added Jones. “Now, people have a place to come to think about Madison. You know, he was the brain behind the whole thing.”

From the podium, journalist Jim Lehrer of PBS’s NewsHour agreed.

“On this day (221 years ago), James Madison and the other delegates to the Constitutional Convention put their signatures on the bottom of a document they had just finished writing,” he said. “Today we live under that same Constitution.”

Madison’s Constitution made it possible for “the average citizen” to defend liberty and serve the public good, Lehrer said. “The restoration of Montpelier gives our nation a place where James Madison can finally be found.”

Gov. Tim Kaine, one of the day’s featured speakers, reiterated the fourth president’s commitment to adopting a Constitution that not only protected “majority rule” but the rights of minorities.

“This is a wonderful day to reclaim a wonderful public servant and tell his story for generations to come,” Kaine said.

U.S. Eric Cantor, R-Richmond, holds the same seat Madison once did in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The nation owes much to Madison, Cantor said.

“For me, his legacy was his strength of vision and his willingness to work for a cause that our struggling nation needed no matter how unpopular it was.”

Sgt. Major John Neel of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington came to Montpelier Wednesday with a five-member color guard of cadets who opened the ceremony after colonial music by the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. He said his guys dropped everything to be part of Constitution Day in Orange.

“They called me only two days ago and we ran to come here; this is a very prestigious event. Just the history here,” said Neel, a first-time Montpelier visitor, looking around. “This is history in the making — we’re part of that, and we’re proud of it.”

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or .

Fourth-graders, 2,600 strong, make giant flag
By Rob Humphreys and Allison Brophy Champion
Star-Exponent Staff
Peering eagerly from their bus windows, Farmington students in Keri Nicholson’s fourth-grade class could barely contain their glee.

“If you look straight ahead,” Nicholson said, “you can see it.”

As Montpelier came into view, Brandon Bowles beamed “That’s a big roof,” eliciting a “That’s the biggest house I’ve ever seen in my real life” from his buddy Will Arrish.

“Look at how many port-a-johns there are!” Brandon gasped as Bus 47 pulled into a grassy field a short walk from James Madison’s historic home.

The day was full of such giddy comments from Brandon, Will and 2,600 other bright-eyed school children whose red, white and blue cardboard squares formed a giant U.S. flag on the front lawn of America’s fourth president.

“If George Bush is here,” Will said, thinking the president was in attendance, “you know there’s gotta be mad security. You know there’s like snipers up there on the roof and stuff.”

Museum educator Sterling Howell was quick to make it easy for Will to understand: “We have enough VIPs here that there are a lot of Secret Service, so don’t act suspicious.”

Indeed, men in black guarded the likes of Supreme Court justices John Roberts Jr. and Samuel Alito, as well as Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine — but, alas, Mr. Bush was not a part of this particular Constitution Day celebration.

Instead, fourth-graders from across the region stole the show, coming en masse from the counties of Culpeper, Albemarle, Greene, Madison, Orange and the city of Charlottesville.

At just after 9 a.m., little feet from Orange Elementary School shuffled into the first row. “It’s history,” exclaimed the school’s gifted and talent specialist, Sharon Mormon. “The kids are very excited.”

That was particularly true for OES fourth-graders Caroline Marquis and Philip Williams — two of the 15 stars in the 1814-era flag. Like the other stars, these two submitted winning posters to Montpelier signifying “What the Constitution means to me.”

“It’s Constitution Day,” said Caroline. “That’s why we’re celebrating.”

“And the new house,” added Philip, referencing Montpelier’s five-year, $24 million restoration project.

Matthew Dixon, 8, of Grymes Memorial School in Orange, rested beneath his star after two hours of waiting for everyone to file in. “Free to be me,” he said of his winning poster idea.

The flag didn’t “fill up” until noon, but Montpelier organizers had planned for the difficult logistics, inviting numerous entertainers to keep their young audience occupied. It was all done in buckled-shoes colonial style, complete with fire breathers, sword swallowers, tightrope walkers and whip snappers.

“I’m not anticipating any bad children that would need whipping or anything like that,” said Otto the Sword Swallower of Centreville. “They all look like wonderful darling children here today, but you never can tell.”

After photographers in a patriotic-colored helicopter snapped photos from above, confetti streamed into the mass of humanity and the children filed back to their buses for a lunch in the shade.

At day’s end, tired teachers and students returned to their classrooms to discuss the special event. Back at Farmington, minutes before the final school bell rang, Nicholson’s class shared their memories.

And although the on-site history lesson about James Madison — and his wife who saved the picture of George Washington — were pretty cool, “The best part,” Andy Wilson said, “was when that guy swallowed fire and ate swords.”