Poplar Forest is one of two personal residences that Thomas Jefferson designed for himself, the other being Monticello. Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, inherited the land--originally a 6,861-acre parcel--at her father's death in 1773, but Jefferson did not begin construction on the house until 1806, and at his death in 1826, he was still working on his little "getaway." Despite its audacious design--it was the first documented octagonal residence in America--and the fact that it is one of the very few extant Jeffersonian structures, Poplar Forest is not nearly so well-known today as its sibling seventy miles to the northeast. Undoubtedly, this is due in large part to its more remote location in Bedford County. Additionally, the house remained in private hands until 1984. Travis McDonald situates the site in its rightful position as a historically important Virginia house, and he documents its story as central to Jefferson's life and approach to architecture, including details of the enslaved community at his western retreat. This new, informed account will appeal to architectural historians and visitors to the villa retreat, as well as to those interested in Jefferson's work and legacy.
Travis C. McDonald is the director of architectural restoration at Poplar Forest.
List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Retreat 2. Thomas Jefferson's Education as Architect and Builder 3. Designing a Retreat 4. The Construction Saga 5. Landscapes of Use and Ornament 6. Retired Life at Poplar Forest 7. A Retirement Hobby Epilogue Afterword: Jefferson in Our Time Appendix A: Chronology Appendix B: Jeffersonian Elements and Materials Appendix C: Jefferson's Typology of Octagon Designs Notes Bibliography Illustration Credits Index
"In Poplar Forest: Thomas Jefferson's Villa Retreat, Travis C. McDonald demonstrates that, even if he had never entered politics, Jefferson would be regarded as one of the greatest pioneer architects in early America. Here, in this work of a lifetime, McDonald has produced a definitive study of Jefferson's retirement retreat, Poplar Forest. Like so much else in Jefferson's life, McDonald reveals that his retirement villa was fraught with contradictions, with much of the skilled workmanship being conducted by his unacknowledged African American sons and extended family. It is at the same time a work of greatness." - Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy, University of Virginia, author of The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson's Idea of a University
