Designed and built in 1806 by Thomas Jefferson as his personal retreat and used when he was overwhelmed by visitors at Monticello. Jefferson escaped three to four times a year where he found the "solitude of a hermit" at the retreat. Restoration in progress.

1773-Thomas Jefferson visited Poplar Forest for the first time in September after his wife inherited the 4,812 acre plantation following the death of her father, John Wayles. 1781- Jefferson and family in seclusion at Poplar Forest after British invasion of Monticello. He worked on Notes on the State of Virginia, his only published book