ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. -- A new exhibit about Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson's mistress and slave, opened at Monticello this weekend.
Hemings gave birth to several of Jefferson’s children and many of her descendants attended the grand opening Saturday.
Dozens of them helped craft the new exhibit about Hemings' life on the plantation.
“This is the most special event I've ever been a part of, and the largest in Monticello's history,” Andrew Davenport, one of Hemings’ descendants, said. “For a long time, she has been erased from historical record, her descendants’ stories were not believed. For Monticello to give her a place in history she finally deserves is momentous."
The Hemings exhibit is the final piece of Monticello’s years-long mountaintop restoration project.
