Monticello is one of the region's most popular landmarks, bringing in tourists from around the country to view the mansion and garden of Thomas Jefferson.

But it's also a former plantation with deep racial history that's often been overlooked on tours and in public dialogue.

Monticello opened in 1923, and for the first 50 or so years there was little, if any, mention of slavery.

"For a long time it wasn't a topic that was talked about," said Gary Sandling, the vice president of visitor programs and services for Monticello. "There would have been talk of servants, or field hands, or a skilled workforce," he said....