Charlottesville City Map Poster

About Charlottesville

At the time of European encounter, part of the area that became Charlottesville was occupied by a Monacan village called "Monasukapanough". The first recorded European visit to Charlottesville was in 1774 by a young French soldier named Jean-Jacques Blaise de Vaublanc, who later became Marquis de Lafayette. He visited again in 1786 and with his wife (the daughter of planter John Wayles) began constructing what would become known as "Lafayette's Forest". In 1803, Thomas Jefferson had previously called for the formation of a Public Academy for Albemarle County. Originally controlled by members of the First Baptist Church until it burned down; it is now owned and operated by Monroe Park Presbyterian Church on its original site at East High Street near Monticello Road.