Jefferson's Retreat Comes Back to Life
National Geographic, March 1999

"The excellent dwelling house I have built there has been associated by me with delight," Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1813 about Poplar Forest, his occasional home.

Jefferson began to design that house, near Lynchburg, Virginia, while President, as a refuge from his busy, better known estate, Monticello.  He journeyed to his country hideaway as often as four times a year from 1809 to 1823, constantly refining in his own hand the blueprint for the small octagonal structure, its service wing, and the landscaping.

His grandson sold the house in 1828; an 1845 fire and repairs radically changed its look.  Later alterations further distorted Jefferson's design.  Finally, in 1984, encroaching development led to the creation of a nonprofit entity that bought the property and set about restoring it to its 1826 appearance, using original building methods.

The exterior restoration now is complete. Work continues inside in the skylit heart of Poplar Forest, a cube-shaped room that served as dining room and a place for the former President to receive visitors.

"Jefferson knew what he wanted; he designed it to satisfy himself," says Travis McDonald, head of the restoration. "Now it makes sense again as a kind of autobiography of its architect."