Re: Monday
Dan gets today's star. Well done. The building was TJ�s retreat, Poplar Forest, in Bedford County, Virginia. Begun on land given to him by his father-in-law work began in 1806, Jefferson was absent during much of the building of his private get away. So he wrote hundreds of letters during times of absence over a total of 17 years detailing what he wanted. If you think change orders today are tough, think if the hot tempered owner/architect owned you! With over 4600 original acres he had space away from all of the people who wanted to (and did, uninvited) visit at Monticello although the trip from one to another is a hassle even today. Originally designed as a sparsely furnished get away it is an octagonal building 50� in diameter (his words) with a cube room 20� x 20� x 20� in the center which served as a dining room. Some of the interesting aspects of the house are that it has fifteen fireplaces but four chimneys-using the octagonal corners to share fireplaces. It has approximately 12' tall, three foot wide, three sash windows (large 2 over 3 panes) that reach the floor, but when opened and the bottom two sashes are nested above with the top sash; serve as doors to the south facing garden outside. The center of the house has a skylight that in Jefferson�s time leaked profusely. Still that skylight gives the cube dining room natural light.
After Jefferson�s death the house went to a grandson. Within three years he then sold it to a family (Hutter) who held onto it until 1984 when it was purchased by a private foundation to preserve the property. Try as they might though there is a housing development on one side and thankfully, a golf course on the other. The Hutter�s lived there and they did what they thought necessary, plumbing, electricity, bricked windows, drilled walls, removed doors, lowered ceilings etc. The fire that destroyed the original wood took place during their occupancy (1845). Today the Foundation is taking its time restoring the home to Jefferson design using the letters he wrote about the place as well as old building scars. The building is stripped to the bare handmade brick walls so if you go don�t expect to see a finished home.
People who worked on Poplar Forest also worked on Monticello, the University of Virginia, and were allowed to work for others outside of the Jefferson mainstream.
Carpenters names were: John Perry, Hugh Chisholm, James Dinsmore, and slave and his best joiner John Hemmings. More than a few others well known for craftsmanship were part of the construction staff.
If you go, at least for me, half the interest is the way the grounds were laid out. Sunken gardens, house placement, circular driveways, mulberry trees lining the driveways, and large mounds of earth situated to hide the privies from view. Poplar Forest is a lesson in site planning and geometry.
Floor plans are on the web if you have further interest.