Residence, Warrenton 



America. In President Madison's time the house was arranged for two 

 establishments, one for his mother and the other for himself and his wife. 

 Dolly Madison took especial pride in the Montpellier gardens. They 

 were laid out by Major L'Enfant, the French engineer who drew the 

 original plan of the City of Washington, and consisted of a series of ter- 

 races in the form of horse-shoes designed to represent, in formation, the 

 hall of the House of Representatives in Washington. They are considered 

 to be today one of the finest examples of Colonial garden designs in 

 America. It was Dolly Madison who, in 1809, erected at Montpellier 

 what was probably the first ice-house in Virginia. It was a subject of 

 wondering comment among the people of the community, who declined 

 to believe that ice cut in winter could be kept for use in the summer, until 

 Mrs. Madison demonstrated the feasibility of the project. The ice- 

 house was constructed on the lines of a Grecian temple, and is now used 

 as a summer house. 



