Where Jefferson went to unwind

0 Comments | Insight on the News, July 22, 2002 | by Gabriella Boston

Like all very busy and celebrated men, Thomas Jefferson--president, author of the Declaration of Independence, ambassador to France, plantation owner, skilled architect, builder and horticultural hobbyist--sometimes needed to escape from life in the limelight. Little-known Poplar Forest, a plantation near Lynchburg. Va., where Jefferson built what is thought to be the first octagonal house in the nation, became that much-needed sanctuary, a refuge where the 18th-century Renaissance man could read, write and garden.

The house is smaller and much simpler than Monticello, his primary residence outside Charlottesville that, despite its great distance from the capital, attracted a stream of more or less welcome guests--some of whom never seemed to leave. "That's why he kept Poplar Forest a secret during his lifetime," estate spokeswoman Karin Sherbin says after mentioning that Jefferson often retreated to a monastery "to recharge his batteries" during his years in France.

Though not nearly as well-known as Monticello, Poplar Forest no longer is a secret, either. Extensive archaeological and restoration work has been continuous throughout the last decade, and the public is invited to visit in groups all year. Individual visitors are welcome from April through November.

The house is sparsely furnished with replica chairs and a dining table from Jefferson's time. (The original pieces were sold by Jefferson's grandson, Francis Eppes, who inherited Poplar Forest in the late 1820s after Jefferson's death.) But the building's main attraction is the architecture itself: four octagonal rooms surrounding a central cubical dining room.

He also installed at least one indoor toilet, revolutionary at a time when most American houses had outdoor privies.