Poplar Forest - by Travis C McDonald (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Poplar Forest is one of two personal residences that Thomas Jefferson designed for himself, the other (of course) being Monticello. Despite its audacious design-it was the first octagonal residence in America-and the fact that 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. Travis McDonald, director of architectural restoration at Poplar Forest, situates the site in its rightful position as a historically important Virginia house, and documents its story as central to Jefferson's life and approach to architecture, with due consideration of the enslaved community at his western retreat"--

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

Poplar Forest is a gem of a building with a long history as a site of slavery, as one of Jefferson's essays in architecture, and as a restoration project. McDonald's book chronicles the restoration in impressive detail and recounts the long campaign of architectural investigation, archaeology, landscape study, and documentary research that made it possible. . . Overall, Poplar Forest is a benchmark of the restoration of Jefferson's Poplar Forest. It takes measure of the three-decade-long project and reports what is new from the historical record, the history of the building, and the process of bringing it into the present. McDonald has revealed the many reasons Poplar Forest is historically significant and how it now stands as a landmark of historic preservation as well.-- "Arris"

McDonald's book recounts the remarkable story of Jefferson and Poplar Forest in clear, well-organized prose. McDonald takes a bewildering array of sources, including the minutiae of construction details, and weaves a story that is fascinating, informative, and never boring.-- "Buildings & Landscapes"

In Poplar Forest: Thomas Jefferson's Villa Retreat, Travis C. McDonald demonstrates that, even if he had never entered politics, Jefferson would be regarded as one of the greatest pioneer architects in early America. Here, in this work of a lifetime, McDonald has produced a definitive study of Jefferson's retirement retreat, Poplar Forest. Like so much else in Jefferson's life, McDonald reveals that his retirement villa was fraught with contradictions, with much of the skilled workmanship being conducted by his unacknowledged African American sons and extended family. It is at the same time a work of greatness.

--Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy, University of Virginia, author of The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson's Idea of a University

About the Author

Travis C. McDonald is the director of architectural restoration at Poplar Forest.