November 22, 2014 The site of UVa’s Academical Village is well acknowledged, but virtually unrecognized is a second and separate land parcel to the west that Jefferson also acquired in creating his ‘Central College’. Simply labeled as ‘Mountains’ by Jefferson on his survey, this 153-acre parcel held the key to creating the Academical Village and sustaining it over time. U.Va.’s Landscape Architecture Professor Nancy Takahashi will share the history of the hill later to be known as Mount Jefferson or Observatory Hill, and the sometimes contested utilization of its resources in fulfilling the teaching, research, and student life mission of the institution.