Press Releases
National Conservation Crew from the Student Conservation Association Reconstructing the Curtilage Fence -
Forest, VA – Volunteers at Poplar Forest have made great progress this summer in reconstructing the “curtilage” fence, the 61-acre enclosure that surrounded the ornamental core of Jefferson’s retreat home. Currently, a team of high school students from the Student Conservation Association (SCA) are camping on the property at Poplar Forest and reconstructing a large amount of the curtilage fence.
The SCA students are high school students (ages 15-19) committed to environmental service. They spend a month or more with the SCA as part of a group that accomplishes meaningful, and often arduous and challenging conservation projects. You can learn more about the Student Conservation Association at http://www.thesca.org/. The SCA students will be at Poplar Forest through August 13th.
In April 1813, Jefferson began to sculpt what he called the “curtilage,” a 61-acre enclosure surrounding the ornamental core of the retreat. In addition to containing the retreat house and ornamental grounds, the curtilage contained gardens, orchards, outbuildings, and slave quarters. It is believed that Jefferson delineated the curtilage space with a Virginia snake fence, a series of rails laid in a zig-zag pattern, about six feet high.
The fence provided a distinct visual boundary that set off the retreat landscape from the larger agricultural operation of the plantation. The fence at Poplar Forest is being reconstructed of black locust, a very durable wood. The original fence may have been made of chestnut, black locust, or other durable wood gathered locally.
Reconstructing this fence adds a new dimension to the interpretation of Jefferson’s retreat. For the first time, visitors will be able to walk out into the landscape, to see and feel the scale of the space that Jefferson organized as his ideal villa retreat. This fall, Poplar Forest will introduce handheld devices that will interpret the area called the “curtilage:” what we have learned so far, what still needs to be uncovered, and how we are analyzing the evidence and figuring out what Jefferson created here.
Poplar Forest plans another Curtilage Fence Public Day on September 26th from 10 am to noon to lay the last pieces of the curtilage fence. Visitors can join with other volunteers and staff to be one of the first to experience the space that Jefferson organized as his villa retreat landscape. Details available at www.poplarforest.org/events.
NOTE: The SCA students will be in the field building the fence on August 5, 8 and 9. Images and interviews are available. Please contact Anna Bentson at (434) 534-8116 or anna@poplarforest.org for more information.
About Poplar Forest
Poplar Forest is Thomas Jefferson's secluded plantation and retreat home, now a National Historic Landmark. Undergoing award-winning restoration and archaeology, Poplar Forest offers educational outreach programs, tours and special events. Poplar Forest is open Wednesday through Monday, April through November; except Thanksgiving Day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission for house tours is $10, adults; $9, seniors; $9 active military; $5, youth, ages12-18; $2, youth 6-11; free, children under the age of 6. Call (434) 525-1806 or visit www.poplarforest.org for additional information.