For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/18/2003
NRHP Listing Date 10/23/2003
NRHP Reference Number 03001085
John M. Perry acquired the Montebello property in 1814. He was one of Thomas Jefferson’s protégés, having worked on the enlargement of Monticello, on Jefferson’s barn, and on Poplar Forest. In 1817, he sold to the Commonwealth the land on which the University of Virginia would soon be built. He was the principal carpenter of the first university building, Pavilion VII. He also worked on many of the other buildings in the academical village. Perry is certainly one of the most important of Jefferson’s circle of builders. Montebello, his own house in sight of the university, exhibits Jeffersonian building practices, proportions, and materials in their most basic forms. Montebello’s simple front porch may be the forerunner of many others like it.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated April 4, 2018
