Seeking America's Spirit
From the New York Times, July 4, 1999

‘A VERY TASTY AIR’
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 Poplar Forest, in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, where Jefferson fled when he needed to escape Monticello

By MARVINE HOWE

Thomas Jefferson would be delighted with the reincarnation of his favorite hideaway in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. It was to Poplar Forest in Bedford County, near Lynchburg, that he used to flee to find the "solitude of a hermit," when life became too hectic at Monticello.

Poplar Forest was the private haven where Jefferson could retire with his books and writings and grandchildren. There is no evidence that Sally Hemings, the slave woman who is alleged to have conceived at least one of his children at Monticello, accompanied her master on these retreats. But Sally’s brother John Hemings was chief carpenter for the estate and brought over two of her sons, Eston and Beverly, as assistants.

In the last century and a half, Poplar Forest suffered many alterations, and by the early 1980’s was threatened with extinction. Alarmed, a small group of civic-minded Virginia citizens took up the mission to save this national landmark and soon received broad grass-roots support.

Now, Poplar Forest has been transformed into a fascinating museum-in-progress, where visitors are welcome to follow each step of the rescue effort. Jefferson’s small octagonal masterpiece has regained its original profile and work is under way to restore the interior and landscape. In October, the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized the Poplar Forest restoration with its 1998 National Preservation Honor Award.

The view of Poplar Forest today is much as it was in the early 19^th century, with encroaching development barely visible. Beyond the formal carriage circle rises the elegant red-brick mansion with white portico and grass-green shutters, flanked by a few ancient tulip poplars, two earth mounds and kiosklike brick necessaries (privies). Jefferson's beloved octagonal walls have been reinforced with an invisible concrete footing.

The columned porticoes facing north and south have been restored and the classical roof completely rebuilt. The central rotunda has recovered its 20-foot ceiling, skylight and original grandeur.

Poplar Forest, along with the University of Virginia, is a creation of Jefferson’s later life, and the culmination of his studies in architecture and landscaping. This was his ideal country villa, with only six rooms (and separate kitchen facilities), where he could indulge his fantasies in design, inspired by Palladio, the influential 16^th-century Italian architect who aimed to recapture the splendor of antiquity.

Although Monticello was undisputably his first love, Jefferson wrote proudly of Poplar Forest in 1812: "When finished, it will be the best dwelling house in the state, except that of Monticello; perhaps preferable to that as more proportioned to the faculties of a private citizen."

The 4,819-acre tobacco and wheat farm at Poplar Forest was part of a legacy of 11,000 acres and 135 slaves left to Jefferson’s wife, Martha, in 1773 by her father, John Wayles. In 1781, during the Revolutionary War, Jefferson and his family sought refuge at Poplar Forest, where they briefly lived in an overseer’s house and Jefferson wrote much of his book, "Notes on the State of Virginia."

Not until 1806 at age 63, did Jefferson begin work on the Poplar Forest mansion, personally helping to lay the foundations and closely supervising the landscaping. The rural retreat was largely completed by the time his term as President was up three years later.

Subsequently, he made the 93-mile, two-and-a-half-day journey by horse from Monticello about three times a year for stays ranging from two weeks to two months.

Jefferson’s granddaughter Ellen Randolph Coolidge, who generally accompanied him on these visits, recalled in 1856: "At Poplar Forest he found in a pleasant home, rest, leisure, power to carry on his favorite pursuits – to think, study, to read, whilst the presence of part of his family took away all character of solitude from his retreat."

In 1823, Jefferson turned over Poplar Forest to his grandson Francis Eppes. He sold the property, which was plagued by problems like a leaking roof, to a neighbor two years after Jefferson’s death in 1826, and it was resold several times. Major changes occurred after a devastating fire in 1845, when the house was remodeled in fashionable Greek Revival style, and in the 1940’s, when it was updated with five modern bathrooms, a kitchen and cabinets.

Recent owners gradually sold off the land to developers, and by 1980 this national monument had come close to fatal dismemberment, with only 50 acres of the original plantation left. Alarmed, four local citizens, from Lynchburg and Bedford, decided that something had to be done, and set up the nonprofit Corporation for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in 1984.

Saving the house and property has gone from a community effort to a national cause. Initially, Bedford County schoolchildren collected Jefferson nickels for the project and University of Virginia alumni helped clear the land. Now the Committee for Friends of Poplar Forest receives support from branch committees around the country. In the last 15 years, some $17 million has been raised – mostly from private sources.

The most urgent task was to recover some of Jefferson’s original property, a slow, costly process. Gradually the board has acquired title to 501 acres, halting development in what has become a prime residential area near Lynchburg.

Poplar Forest was first opened to the public on a regular basis in 1986, and visitors were able to follow step by step the meticulous research into Jefferson’s papers, the archaeological excavation in the house and landscape, stabilization work and the actual restoration.

Although it would have been easier to close off the property for a few years while restorers and landscape artists went about their business, the board decided that the entire process should be open. After the guided house tour, visitors are free to wander the site and ask questions.

"We’ve tried to use traditional materials wherever possible and modern scientific techniques when necessary – because that’s what Jefferson would have done," said Travis McDonald, architectural restoration director, who previously worked at Colonial Williamsburg.

In fact, restorers have gone to great lengths to conserve the Jeffersonian fabric of the house and even improve it. Old bricks have been mended, nails replaced by wooden pegs, mortar beaten by wooden mallets, the brick columns covered with the same kind of stucco Jefferson’s craftsmen used to look like stone.

When original materials were not available locally, they were substituted for or imported. Mahogany was used for the balustrade because the original fine poplar could not be found. Since iron shingles were unavailable, stainless steel was used (then coated with tin, as Jefferson did with his) and so, probably will not rust so easily. To correct the leakage problem, the roof was covered with a rubber membrane. Window glass with the old ripple effect was imported from Germany. Craftsmen specializing in restoring lead gutters were imported from Canada.

Meanwhile archaeologists have been studying Jefferson’s way of life and that of his slaves through some 120,000 artifacts collected from several excavation sites. For example, fragments of fine English and Chinese tableware show that even in his rural retreat, Jefferson maintained high standards. Some artifacts are on display in the 19^th century barn, which serves as a mini-museum and archaeological laboratory.

Visitors have been able to follow these investigations first hand. Excavations on the east side of the mansion revealed foundations of what Jefferson called the Wing of Offices, torn down in the 1840’s: a cold-storage space, kitchen with a massive stone hearth, cook’s room and smokehouse.

Barbara Heath, director of archaeology, points out that many of the Jefferson family artifacts and those of the slaves were found mixed together in a large refuse deposit in the kitchen yard. The mixing of debris suggests the "informality and intimacy" existing in the plantation household, she says. It is probable that the Jeffersons and their slaves ate the same food and used some of the same dishes to prepare it.

At a dig on the eastern edge of the property, archaeologists discovered the remnants of slave cabins at two sites, about 60 yards apart. Root cellars showed signs of four log cabins with earth floors. One site, with one cabin, was inhabited from the 1770’s to the 1790’s; the other, with three cabins, from the 1790’s to 1812. Since there were as many as 100 slaves at Poplar Forest, it is thought that several similar slave quarters were in other parts of the plantation.

"We’ve learned the slaves had some control over their lives and some privacy," says Ms. Heath, whose book "Hidden Lives: The Archaeology of Slave Life at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest" was published in May by the University Press of Virginia. Evidence shows the slaves earned money for extra work, like digging out the sunken lawn or selling poultry to Jefferson. The many padlocks and keys found on the site suggest that they were able to accumulate valuables, and lead shot indicates they had access to guns and supplemented rations by hunting. Fragments of slate suggest that slaves who knew how to read tried to teach others.

Visitors can watch the interior restoration as workers replace the pine flooring with oak and add a heating system. There are also plans to rebuild the Wing of Offices and replant Jefferson’s ornamental garden.

After much discussion, it has still not been decided whether to furnish the mansion, since there are no records of how it was done in Jefferson’s time. Jefferson left few records, and Ellen Coolidge wrote only: "It was furnished in the simplest manner, but had a very tasty air." A decision on the installation of air-conditioning has been deferred – to give Jefferson’s well-planned ventilation a chance.

"This is not just another house museum with ropes and do-not-touch signs," said Lynn Beebe, executive director of the project. The board is looking into innovative ways to give the public a hands-on experience in Jeffersonian ideas – in architecture, agriculture and other areas.

One very Jeffersonian moment will occur today, when the Declaration of Independence will be read aloud from the back portico of the house. Living-history interpreters will be active elsewhere on the grounds.