Poplar Forest is Thomas Jefferson’s personal retreat. It is one of only two homes Thomas Jefferson designed and created for his own use. Poplar Forest was designated a National Historic Landmark by the secretary of the interior.
Today, the historic property offers an exciting opportunity to "be there at the beginning" – to experience the award-winning rescue, archaeological exploration and restoration of one of America's most important national landmarks.
Jefferson began construction on his retreat at Poplar Forest in 1806, during his second term as president. Upon his retirement in 1809, Jefferson began sojourning to Poplar Forest from Monticello three or four times a year, staying from a few weeks to a few months at a time.
Poplar Forest played an important role in Jefferson’s later life after he turned 65. It served as a private retreat, situated far from public scrutiny, where he could indulge in his favorite pastimes of reading, studying and thinking. This was a creative time in his life.
He wrote to friends and colleagues, oversaw his farms, exchanged plants and seeds with fellow gardeners, read ceaselessly and designed his most personal landscape and architectural creation at Poplar Forest. He went there to find rest and leisure, rekindle his creativity and to enjoy private family time. Jefferson loved having his grandchildren accompany him to Poplar Forest, where they would spend quality time together.
An Architectural Masterpiece
Poplar Forest is considered Jefferson's most mature architectural masterpiece. In the house and landscape designed here, elements from ancient Renaissance Palladian and 18th-century French architecture, as well as British and Virginia design, fuse into a harmonious whole.
As many as 94 slaves lived at Poplar Forest during Jefferson’s time. Letters and other documents provide glimpses into the lives of the enslaved workers, however, their home sites went unrecorded and few details were written about their personal lives. Archaeologists working at Poplar Forest play an invaluable role in uncovering materials related to the lives of these individuals that would otherwise remain hidden.
Sold after his death, altered and fallen into disrepair, Poplar Forest is today being restored. It is emerging as a stunning environment, where architecture and landscape are seamlessly intertwined.
Awarded the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Honor Award, the restoration now in progress is regarded in the professional preservation community as one of the most important projects in the country. Compared to the other American landmarks, such as Mount Vernon and Monticello, Poplar Forest is in the infancy of its rescue and restoration.
The nonprofit Corporation for Jefferson's Poplar Forest was formed in December 1983 by a group of individuals to lead the rescue of Jefferson’s endangered retreat for the cultural and educational benefit of the public – now and for future generations. In January 1984, the corporation succeeded in taking title to a 50-acre parcel of land, which was all that remained with the original buildings at the heart of Jefferson’s original plantation.
In 1986, Poplar Forest opened to the public for the first time, before restoration had even begun. In the first years, funds were raised to stabilize the historic features, keep the landmark open regularly, complete payment on the first land purchases, begin the state-of-the-art restoration and start developing Poplar Forest's tremendous educational potential.
The ongoing land rescue, archaeological exploration and restoration are made possible entirely through donations to the Corporation for Jefferson's Poplar Forest, a nonprofit 501c(3) organization. The nonprofit's mission is to preserve and restore Jefferson's retreat, so that it can serve the public as an innovative educational catalyst, inspiring insight into the past, present and future.
Visitors from all 50 states and more than 80 countries have come to Poplar Forest to experience Jefferson, the private man, and his ideas. They witness archaeologists bringing new information to light and craftsmen painstakingly restoring Jefferson’s ideal space for his personal "pursuit of happiness."
Show Less
Poplar Forest is Thomas Jefferson’s personal retreat. It is one of only two homes Thomas Jefferson designed and created for his own use. Poplar Forest was designated a National Historic Landmark by the secretary of the interior.
Today, the historic property offers an exciting opportunity to "be there at the beginning" – to experience the award-winning rescue, archaeological exploration and restoration of one of America's most important national landmarks.
Jefferson began construction on his retreat at Poplar Forest in 1806, during his second term as president. Upon his retirement in 1809, Jefferson began sojourning to Poplar Forest from Monticello three or four times a year, staying from a few weeks to a few months at a time.
Poplar Forest played an important role in Jefferson’s later life after he turned 65. It served as a private retreat,…
Read More