Historic Preservation
For more details on driving the Escape Route, email Albemarle Chapter, NSDAR, to receive a complimentary Travel Information guide.
Explore Thomas Jefferson’s Escape Route
While most of us are familiar with Jack Jouett’s harrowing ride from Louisa County to Monticello to warn Thomas Jefferson of a conversation he overheard that the British troops were on their way to capture him, many may not be aware of what transpired next. In 2024, six members of the Albemarle Chapter, NSDAR, created a brochure the general public could use to follow Thomas Jefferson’s escape route from the British in 1781.
The six chapter members spent several months researching the timeline of events after Jefferson was warned about the approaching British troops. They compiled notes on his escape from Monticello to his retreat home, Poplar Forest, in Lynchburg. A map was created based on Jefferson’s path using modern-day roads so people today could drive the route and learn about the Jefferson-era stops along the way and other historic locations. The brochure shares the history of the escape, an illustrated map, recommendations for one and two-day trips, and additional resources. A Starburst Grant from Virginia DAR helped with the printing. Brochures are available at Monticello, Poplar Forest, and Virginia Visitor’s Centers. 
The Albemarle Chapter, NSDAR, and Monticello
Historical Markers
| 1924 | Boulder placed at “Locust Hill,” birthplace of Meriwether Lewis |
| 1924 | Boulder placed at “Buena Vista,” birthplace of George Rogers Clark |
| 1928 | Marker placed on the grave of William Lewis, father of Meriwether Lewis, at “Cloverfields,” near Keswick |
| 1930 | Roadside marker placed at the entrance to Captain Joshua Fry’s home, the oldest house in Albemarle County (has since been destroyed) |
| 1932 | Contribution toward bronze tablet to be placed on the corner of the Nelson House in Yorktown |
| 1932 | Marker given for a black walnut tree sent from Monticello and planted in the National Forest (since destroyed) |
| 1938 | Tablet inscribed by the Albemarle Chapter, NSDAR, and placed in the wall above the front door at the restoration of the Albemarle County Courthouse |
| 1939 | “Jubilee” project: Marking of a Real Daughter’s grave and graves of two American Revolutionary War soldiers |
| 1940 | Marker placed on Real Daughter’s grave, Mrs. Elizabeth Clark Thompkins, Honorary Albemarle Chapter, NSDAR, member |
| 1940 | Marker placed on the grave of Robert Rives at Oakwood Cemetery, Nelson County |
| 1941 | Marker placed on the grave of Nicholas Lewis at Riverview Cemetery, Charlottesville |
| 1942 | Marker placed on the grave of John Walker, Revolutionary soldier at “Belvoir,” Cismont |
| 1964 | Replacement of marker at “Viewmont,” site of the home of Captain Joshua Fry |
| 1967 | Marker placed at “The Farm,” home of Colonel Nicholas Lewis, uncle of Meriwether Lewis |
| 1971 | Marker placed at Beckett’s Ridge between White Hall and Crozet, on the grave of Susannah Beckett, wife of American Revolutionary War soldier Humphrey Beckett. |
| 1974 | Relocation and re-dedication of stone marker at the grave of Nicholas Lewis, Riverview Cemetery, in cooperation with the local Bicentennial Commission |
| 1981 | Marker placed at the grave of Captain Benjamin Harris in the family cemetery, Albemarle County, at Junction of routes 6 and 717 |
| 2008 | Marker placed at Brown’s Cove, home of the ten American Revolutionary War soldiers of the Brown family |
| 2022 | Markers placed at Burnley-Goodman Cemetery in Earlysville, Virginia, for Charles and Horsley Goodman, American Revolutionary War Patriots |