September 15, 2008

Poplar Forest

poplar forest
Here's a couple of views of Poplar Forest, built by Thomas Jefferson in 1806 on a plantation that his wife inherited from her father. It's near Lynchburg, Virginia, and was a two-day ride from Monticello by horse.

In 1781 during the American Revolution, Jefferson and his family stayed on the plantation to avoid the British, who were looking for him at Monticello. (They considered him a traitor, so his life was in danger.)

Jefferson was president when he had the octagonal house at Poplar Forest built. He used it as a retreat and also as headquarters for running the plantation there.

And here's a restored brick "necessary" or outhouse. There's one on each side of the house although some distance away. Under a staircase that led downstairs from his bedroom, Jefferson had an indoor toilet, a convenience that was rare in this country at the time but fashionable in Paris, where he had spent some years as our Minister to France.

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