A docent-guided house tour gives you an in-depth look at the main level of Jefferson’s retreat home, led by an official Poplar Forest docent. Admission includes a guided tour of the upper level, along with self-guided exploration of the exhibits in the lower level of the house, the Wing of Offices, the ornamental grounds, the 1857 Slave Dwelling and the slave quarter site. Docent-guided house tours are offered at 10:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. based on docent availability.

Explore the main level of Jefferson’s retreat home at your own pace, using the Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest app (available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store). The app features an audio tour of the main level of the house and a tour of the Wing of Offices that can be listened to with headphones or read. Admission includes the app-guided tour of the upper level, along with further self-guided exploration of the exhibits in the lower level of the house, the Wing of Offices, the ornamental grounds, the 1857 Slave Dwelling and the slave quarter site. Please note that the use of headphones is required while using the app to explore the house.

Discover the enslaved men, women and children who lived and labored at Poplar Forest. Experience the only intact enslaved quarter on the property, constructed in 1857 to house three enslaved households and read stories of those who were enslaved by Jefferson and later owners. The Enslaved Community Exhibit Room is temporarily closed while the Department of Archaeology & Landscapes discovers more about the structure.

To the northeast of the retreat home, archaeological evidence of a Jefferson-era slave quarter was unearthed in the 1980s. Today, that site features a ghost structure of one of the houses original to the site and an exhibit that explores what life at the Quarter Site for enslaved people may have been like. The exhibit is open and requires a short walk down a hill.

Along the Poplar Forest Parkway are more exhibit signs that explore the plantation at Poplar Forest. Visitors are encouraged to pull over and read the signs while entering or exiting the property.

Explore archaeological digs happening on site and hear more from the Poplar Forest Department of Archaeology and Landscapes about recent findings. For more information about current dig sites, check out our Current Excavations page.

Exhibits that explore archaeology, restoration and the history of Poplar Forest—including that of the enslaved community—are available in the lower level of the house, the Wing of Offices, at the restoration workshop, archaeology laboratory, slave quarter site, and the 1857 slave dwelling.. Access to all exhibits is included in the price of general admission.