Poplar Forest : Thomas Jefferson's Villa Retreat / Travis C. McDonald.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McDonald, Travis C., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historic house museums--Virginia--Forest.

Historic house museums.

Octagonal houses--Virginia--Forest.

Octagonal houses.

Forest (Va.)--Buildings, structures, etc.

Forest (Va.).

Poplar Forest (Va.).

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826--Homes and haunts--Virginia--Forest.

Jefferson, Thomas.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (323 pages)

Other Title:

Poplar Forest

Place of Publication:

University of Virginia Press

Charlottesville, Virginia : University of Virginia Press, [2023]

Summary:

Poplar Forest is one of two personal residences that Thomas Jefferson designed for himself, the other being Monticello. Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, inherited the land-originally a 6, 861-acre parcel-at her father's death in 1773, but Jefferson did not begin construction on the house until 1806, and at his death in 1826, he was still working on his little "getaway." Despite its audacious design-it was the first documented octagonal residence in America-and the fact that it is one of the very few extant Jeffersonian structures, Poplar Forest is not nearly so well-known today as its sibling seventy miles to the northeast. Undoubtedly, this is due in large part to its more remote location in Bedford County. Additionally, the house remained in private hands until 1984. Travis McDonald situates the site in its rightful position as a historically important Virginia house, and he documents its story as central to Jefferson's life and approach to architecture, including details of the enslaved community at his western retreat. This new, informed account will appeal to architectural historians and visitors to the villa retreat, as well as to those interested in Jefferson's work and legacy.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. The Retreat

3. Thomas Jefferson's Education as Architect and Builder

3. Designing a Retreat

4. The Construction Saga

5. Landscapes of Use and Ornament

6. Retired Life at Poplar Forest

7. A Retirement Hobby

Epilogue

Afterword: Jefferson in Our Time

Appendix A: Chronology

Appendix B: Jeffersonian Elements and Materials

Appendix C: Jefferson's Typology of Octagon Designs

Notes

Bibliography

Illustration Credits

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: McDonald, Travis C. Poplar Forest

ISBN:

9780813949642

0813949645