Replica of Monticello is up for sale at $6.5 million

A replica of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Va., has come on the market in Somers, Conn., for $6.5 million.

The brainchild of Friendly’s Ice Cream co-founder S. Prestley Blake, who has undertaken numerous building projects in recent years, the estate was a swan song of sorts as he approached the century mark. Blake held his 100th birthday party in the newly constructed residence this month.

Construction began last year on the 10,000-square-foot house, which sits on 10 acres connected to Blake’s own 80-acre property by wooded horse trail. After tearing down an existing church and home on the land, Blake worked with Laplante Construction Inc. to precisely replicate the brick neoclassical-style exterior of Monticello, using the same materials Jefferson employed to create his plantation home.

Inside, the five-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom home is more modern. A blue sky ceiling mural in the entryway, however, recalls the skylight in Jefferson’s dome room.

Sherri-Lynn Milkie of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty is the listing agent.

Twitter: @LATHotProperty