Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Multiple Landscapes of Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest

  • Published:
Historical Archaeology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The ongoing archaeological research into the historic landscapes of Poplar Forest strives to develop a comprehensive understanding of the human interactions that shaped the ornamental grounds, plantation, and natural environment in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This article will explore the results of three projects that have offered valuable perspectives on how these related landscapes intersect at Thomas Jefferson’s retreat and plantation in Bedford County, Virginia. The environmental and material culture analyses associated with the retreat’s ornamental plant nursery, double row of paper mulberry trees, and north tree clumps and oval flowerbeds demonstrate ties to the environmental transformations brought about by Jefferson’s vision for the property.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, Keith 1999 Segments Saved from Trees Recently Cut at Poplar Forest. Manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Archer, Steven 2004 Poplar Forest Phytolith Analysis Report. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from Department of Archaeological Research, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Betts, Edwin Morris (editor) 1944 Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book, 1766–1824: With Relevant Extracts from His Other Writings. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowes, Jessica, and Heather Trigg 2012 Social Dimensions of Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Slaves’ Uses of Plants at Poplar Forest. In Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: Unearthing a Virginia Plantation, Barbara J. Heath and Jack Gary, editors, pp. 155–171. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, S. Allen, JR. 1993 Poplar Forest and Thomas Jefferson. Corporation for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyr, Howard 2011 Physical and Geochemical Analysis of Cultural Planting Features and Mound Stratigraphy at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from Archaeological Research Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

    Google Scholar 

  • 2012 Geochemical Analysis of Ornamental Tree Clumps and Oval Flower Beds at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from Archaeological Research Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eppes, Mary Elizabeth 1827 Letter to Jane Randolph, 1 April. Edgehill-Randolph Family Papers, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gary, Jack 2008 Jefferson’s Curtilage Landscape: Preliminary Interpretations of Site B. Quarterly Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Virginia 63(3):137–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gary, Jack, and Elizabeth Paull 2008 A Minimum Vessel Count for Site B. Quarterly Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Virginia 63(3):152–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gary, Jack, Eric Proebsting, and Lori Lee 2010 “Culture of the Earth”: The Archaeology of the Ornamental Plant Nursery and an Antebellum Slave Quarter at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giese, Ronald L. 2007 Early Virginia Grain Cultivation, and Thomas Jefferson, Monograph No. 4. Manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, Arthur R. 1937 Early Erosion-Control Practices in Virginia. United States Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication No. 256. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath, Barbara J. 1993 A Report on the 1992–1993 Excavations: The Perimeter of the House and Excavations Related to Restoration Drainage/Foundation Work at Poplar Forest, Forest, Virginia. Manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1999 Hidden Lives: The Archaeology of Slave Life at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville.

    Google Scholar 

  • 2007 Thomas Jefferson’s Landscape of Retirement. In Estate Landscapes: Design, Improvement, and Power in the Post-Medieval Landscape, Jonathan Finch and Kate Giles, editors, pp. 129–147. Boydell & Brewer, Rochester, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • 2008 Rediscovering Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. Quarterly Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Virginia 63(3):124–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • 2012 Slave Housing, Community Formation, and Community Dynamics at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, 1760s–1810s. In Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: Unearthing a Virginia Plantation, Barbara J. Heath and Jack Gary, editors, pp. 105–128. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • 2013 Landscape Archaeology at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. In Sourcebook for Garden Archaeology: Methods, Techniques, Interpretations, and Field Examples, Amina-Aïcha Malek, editor, pp. 697–706. Peter Lang International Academic, Bern, Switzerland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath, Barbara J., and Amber Bennett 2000 “The Little Spots Allow’d Them”: The Archaeological Study of African-American Yards. Historical Archaeology 34(2):38–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, Barbara J., and Jack Gary 2012 “Two Tracts of Land at the Poplar Forest”: A Historical and Archaeological Overview of Thomas Jefferson’s Plantation Retreat. In Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: Unearthing a Virginia Plantation, Barbara J. Heath and Jack Gary, editors, pp. 1–19. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, Barbara J., Randy Lichtenberger, Keith Adams, Lori Lee, and Elizabeth Paull 2004 Poplar Forest Archaeology: Studies in African American Life, Excavations and Analysis of Site A, Southeast Terrace and Site B, Southeast Curtilage, June 2003–June 2004. Report to Public Welfare Foundation, Washington, DC, from Department of Archaeology and Landscapes, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • 2005 Poplar Forest Archaeology: Studies in Plantation Life and Landscape, Excavations and Analysis of Site B, Southeast Curtilage, June 2004–August 2005. Report to Public Welfare Foundation, Washington, DC, from Department of Archaeology and Landscapes, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobucci, Susan A. 2009 An Analysis of Pollen from Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: The South Profile of the Gully Located within Site B, Cultural Resources Management Study No. 35. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobucci, Susan A., and Heather Trigg 2012 An Analysis of Pollen from Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: The West Allee, Cultural Resources Management Study No. 50. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jefferson, Thomas 1810 Letter to William Burwell, 5 September. Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1812 Memorandum to Jeremiah A. Goodman, 12 May. Thomas Jefferson Papers, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1813 Letter to Jeremiah Goodman, 8 September. George Arents Tobacco Collection, New York Public Library, New York, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1814 Instructions for Poplar Forest Management, 11 November. Andre De Coppet Collection, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1819 Letter to Joel Yancey, 17 January. Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, John 2002 Analysis of Pollen from Poplar Forest. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA. from Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kealhofer, Lisa 1997 Poplar Forest: Phytolith Analysis. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from Department of Archaeological Research, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelso, William M., M. Drake Patten, and Michael A. Strutt 1991 Poplar Forest Archaeology Research Report for NEH Grant 1990–1991. Manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langley, Batty 1728 New Principles of Gardening, or, the Laying Out and Planting Parterres, Groves, Wildernesses, Labyrinths, Avenues, Parks, &c. after a More Grand and Rural Manner, than Has Been Done Before. A. Bettesworth and J. Batley, London, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Lori 2008 Late Antebellum Slavery at Poplar Forest (1828–1862). Quarterly Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Virginia 63(3):165–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • 2012 Consumerism, Social Relations, and Antebellum Slavery at Poplar Forest. In Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: Unearthing a Virginia Plantation, Barbara J. Heath and Jack Gary, editors, pp. 172–188. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, Travis C. 1994 Poplar Forest: Synthesis of a Lifetime. In Notes on the State of Poplar Forest, Vol. 2, pp. 1–7. Corporation for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neiman, Fraser 2008 The Lost Worlds of Monticello: An Evolutionary Perspective. Journal of Anthropological Research 64(2):161–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neiman, Fraser, Sara Bon Harper, John Jones, Julie K. Stein, and Derek Wheeler 2003 Landscape Dynamics at Monticello: A Geoarchaeological Perspective. Poster presented at the 68th Annual Conference of the Society for American Archaeology, Milwaukee, WI. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello <http://www.monticello.org/archaeology/ Poster/index.html>. Accessed 10 December 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, Frederick D., and Ralph E. Griswold 1978 Thomas Jefferson Landscape Architect. University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pogue, Dennis J. 1994 Archaeological Investigations at the Mount Vernon Dung Repository (44Fx762/15): An Interim Report. Manuscript, Mount Vernon Archaeology Department, File Report No. 5, Mount Vernon, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Proebsting, Eric 2012 Seasons of Change: Community Life and Landscape at the Foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 1740–1860. In Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: Unearthing a Virginia Plantation, Barbara J. Heath and Jack Gary, editors, pp. 46–68. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Proebsting, Eric, and Lori Lee 2012 Piecing Together the Past: Interpreting Inter-Site Connections at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology 28:55–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raymer, L E. 2003 Archaeobotanical Analysis from Data Recovery Excavations at the North Hill and Quarter Sites, Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: A Study of Enslaved African American Subsistence Patterns, Revised Draft, New South Associates Technical Report No. 781. Report to Corporation for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from New South Associates, Stone Mountain, GA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spurrier, John 1793 The Practical Farmer. Brynberg & Andrews, Wilmington, DE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strutt, Michael A. 1992 Poplar Forest Landscape Archaeology: A Progress Report on Excavations Performed from June to December 1991. Manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1996 A Report on the Archaeological Excavations North of the Wing of Offices at Poplar Forest. Manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1997 A Report on the Garden Excavations of 1993, 1994, 1995 at Poplar Forest, Bedford County, Virginia. Manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trigg, Heather, and Susan Jacobucci 2013 Identification of Pollen and Charred Wood from Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest Oval Beds, Tree Clumps, and Prehistoric Features. Cultural Resources Management Study No. 58. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trussell, Timothy 2000 Jefferson’s Villa in the Garden. A Report on the Landscape Archaeology Project at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, 1998–1999. Manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA

    Google Scholar 

  • 2012 A Landscape for Mr. Jefferson’s Retreat. In Jefferson’s Poplar Forest: Unearthing a Virginia Plantation, Barbara J. Heath and Jack Gary, editors, pp. 69–84. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Windingstad, Jason D. 2011 Using Multi-Element Soil Analysis and Soil Morphology to Interpret Cultural Features and Land-Use Patterns at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Virginia. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from Archaeological Research Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yancey, Joel 1820 Letter to Thomas Jefferson, 27 February. Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yost, Chad, and Kathryn Puseman 2012 Phytolith Analysis of Jefferson-Era Sediment from the Ornamental Landscape and Charcoal Identification and AMS Radiocarbon Dating of a Prehistoric Feature at Poplar Forest Plantation, Bedford County, Virginia, PaleoResearch Institute Technical Report 12–061, Peter Kovácik and R. A. Varney, contributors. Report to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Forest, VA, from PaleoResearch Institute, Golden, CO.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology and Landscapes, Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, PO Box 419, Forest, VA, 24551, USA

    Jack Gary & Eric Proebsting

Authors
  1. Jack Gary
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eric Proebsting
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gary, J., Proebsting, E. The Multiple Landscapes of Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. Hist Arch 50, 61–79 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03377177

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03377177

Search

Navigation