By Alex Hampl
alexandrianews.org
President Jefferson with members of the Gadsby’s Tavern Museum Society Board Linda Mills and Howard Dixon. (Courtesy Photo)
Thomas Jefferson’s legacy lives on at Gadsby’s Tavern. The local museum recently acquired a letter written by the third president, which is now on display with a small exhibit in the museum’s ballroom.
According to museum director Gretchen Bulova, the letter was a donation from American Legion Post 24. Members of the post found the framed letter on December 7th, 2009 while looking through documents and photos.
“The American Legion has always been very generous to Gadsby’s Tavern,” Bulova said. “It’s a real treat, a real honor, to have this letter.”
In the letter, dated July 25, 1808, Jefferson invited two friends to come visit him in Washington D.C. The letter also contains detailed directions about the most efficient way to travel from D.C. to Jefferson’s Monticello home.
“The letter mentions all the taverns along the way that Jefferson’s friends could have stayed at,” Bulova said. “He told them the taverns in each town from D.C. to Monticello.”
Gadsby’s Tavern was not mentioned in the letter. As part of the exhibit, the letter was transcribed and will soon appear on the museum’s website.