Poplar Forest

About 10 miles from The National D-Day Memorial is Poplar Forest. Poplar Forest is the name of an octagonal home built by Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third president, for use as a retreat.

Jefferson inherited 4,819 acres of land and 11 enslaved men, women, and children at Poplar Forest through his father-in-law, John Wayles in 1773. The property’s name, which predates Jefferson’s ownership, reflects the forest that once grew there. Several stately poplars in the front of the home welcome visitors today.

In the early years of his ownership, Jefferson managed Poplar Forest from afar, hiring overseers to manage day-to-day duties, as he practiced law and served in a series of government offices. He and his family, however, did spend two months there in 1781 when they left Monticello to elude British capture at the end of the Revolutionary War. During this visit, Jefferson compiled much of the material for his only book, Notes on the State of Virginia.

In 1806, Jefferson traveled from Washington to supervise the laying of the foundation for the octagonal house that exists today. When his presidency ended in 1809, Jefferson visited the retreat three to four times a year, staying from two weeks to two months at a time. His visits often coincided with the seasonal responsibilities of the working plantation. He also oversaw the ornamentation of the house and grounds, and the planting of his vegetable garden. Family members, most often two granddaughters, Ellen and Cornelia Randolph, often traveled to Poplar Forest with him beginning in 1816.

Jefferson made his last trip to Poplar Forest in 1823 when he settled his grandson, Francis Eppes, on the property. Ill health prevented further visits. In 1828, two years after Jefferson’s death at age 83, Eppes sold Poplar Forest to a neighbor.

The design of Poplar Forest is highly idealistic in concept with only a few concessions to practicality—it was so perfectly suited to Jefferson alone that subsequent owners found it difficult to inhabit and altered it to suit their needs. In 1845 a fire led the family then living at Poplar Forest to convert Jefferson’s villa into a practical farmhouse. The property was privately owned until December 1983 when a nonprofit corporation began the rescue of the landmark for future generations. Visitors today see the house as reconstruction, restoration and preservation, are in progress.  -- Poplar Forest website

Here are photos I took during our visit:

The exterior octagon shape isn't as visible as one would think, but it's there.

The story of how Jefferson built the house.

A front shot.

Still trying to show the octagon sides. Note the structure attached. This was the kitchen and guest rooms.

Just another exterior shot.

From left: A privy, the overseer's house, and the enslaved persons quarters.

Enslaved persons quarters in the forefront.

A sign designating the two structures.

The overseer's house.

An interior room in that long side portion.

Jefferson had one of the better equipped kitchens for the time period. It's in the long portion, too, away from the main house.

He constructed an ingenious set of guttering within the rafters to keep water off the roof.

Interior of the house.

Information exhibits take up a lot of the space, but it's rather a small area by today's standards.

This was in the middle of the house proper.

The octagon shape does not lend itself to good use of space.