Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest_ARCHAEOLOGY
In 1812, Jefferson had Captain Joseph Slaughter undertake a survey to lay out the bounds of a 61 acre enclosure surrounding the main dwelling house. This area was referred to as the curtilage, a term used to define an enclosure surrounding a dwelling and containing buildings or space associated with the operation of the house. A year later, Slaughter completed a larger survey of the Poplar Forest property, resulting in a map showing both the results of the 1812 curtilage survey and the larger landscape of agricultural fields, streams, and road networks associated with the plantation. This was not the first map of Poplar Forest, and certainly not the last, but it is the only example that shows Jefferson’s attempts at formally bounding the landscape associated with the dwelling house. The curtilage is the larger of the two blocks seen around the circle representing the main house. The lines represent a split-rail fence that Jefferson instructed to build in December 1812. Three springs, represented by dots with lines emanating from them, are enclosed in the curtilage. All three drain into the north branch of the Tomahawk Creek, and would have provided water to the main house and any slave quarters located within the curtilage. The smaller block surrounding the house encompasses 10 acres. No written description of this boundary exists and archaeological investigation is currently underway to determine if this was a fence that bounded the ornamental gardens directly associated with the dwelling house. Understanding and locating all of the buildings and activities associated with the curtilage and the 10 acre block is one of the primary goals of archaeological investigation at Poplar Forest.

Map 1: 1813 Slaughter survey showing the larger landscape of Poplar Forest. Fields are labeled with their names (i.e. Belted Field, Fork Field) and the dotted lines represent roads and paths.
Map 2: Close-up of the 1813 Slaughter survey showing the curtilage boundary as laid out in 1812. The winding lines are the branches of the Tomahawk Creek.
Map 3: Slaughter survey showing the location of Site B and its relationship to the 10 acre block and the dwelling house.
Map 4: Modern orthophoto showing the boundaries of the curtilage and 10 acre block according to Slaughter’s survey.