JEFFERSON'S UNIVERSITY - THE EARLY LIFE PROJECT, 1819-1870

THE PLACES; THE PEOPLE. 

SEE AND SEARCH THE STORY OF MR. JEFFERSON'S UNIVERSITY,

AS TOLD THROUGH PRIMARY RECORDS FROM THE TIME PERIOD OF 1819-1870.

Detail, 1827 Landscape Plan (click to enlarge)

The Creation of the Academical Village

Mr. Jefferson's academical village not only tended to the minds of its students and faculty but also to their more corporeal needs. While the study of such matters may seem trivial at first glance, it does provide insight into the day-to-day workings of the university, revealing the sometimes contentious relationships between students, faculty, family, servants, and hotelkeepers, and marking the presence of these and other people (and even animals) that traversed the grounds of the academical village. 

An examination of one building of the Academical Village - Mrs. Gray's hotel (Hotel E)  - provides such detail. JUEL researchers have mined primary sources for information of the life of the building, including who lived and worked there (and when), architectural plans, and evidence of repairs and renovations. While Mrs. John Gray was hotelkeeper, from 1828-1845, the addition of a kitchen to Hotel E was undertaken, of which a rendering is provided here.

Along with digitizing these primary sources (see Resources), JUEL provides users with a range of interpretive materials for an in-depth analysis of the buildings and people of Jefferson's university. Regarding Hotel E, an image gallery describes and shows the changes to the kitchen, while the Visualization page provides three-dimensional renderings of it and other structures of the Academical Village. The Essays section highlights events of note that occured within the village/university, from its very construction through to the new reality of the postbellum era. Additionally, the Search function gives you direct entry into the wealth of primary records of JUEL, allowing you to search by name, place, keyword, or event.