Jefferson's Poplar Forest, livre ebook

One hundred years in the life of a founding father’s 5,000 acre “retreat”

Thomas Jefferson once called his plantation Poplar Forest, “the most valuable of my possessions.” For Jefferson, Poplar Forest was a private retreat for him to escape the hoards of visitors and everyday pressures of his iconic estate, Monticello.

Jefferson’s Poplar Forest uses the knowledge gained from long-term and interdisciplinary research to explore the experiences of a wide range of people who lived and worked there between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Multiple archaeological digs reveal details about the lives of Jefferson, subsequent owners and their families, and the slaves (and descendants) who labored and toiled at the site. From the plantation house to the weeds in the garden, Barbara Heath, Jack Gary, and numerous contributors examine the landscapes of the property, investigating the relationships between the people, objects, and places of Poplar Forest.

As the first book-length study of the archaeology of a president’s estate, Jefferson’s Poplar Forest offers a compelling and uniquely specific look into the lives of those who called Poplar Forest home.

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Maps

Preface

Chapter 1. “Two Tracts of Land at the Poplar Forest”: A Historical and Archaeological Overview of Thomas Jefferson’s Plantation Retreat
Barbara J. Heath and Jack Gary

Chapter 2. A Brief History of Plantation Archaeology in Virginia
Barbara J. Heath

Chapter 3. Seasons of Change: Community Life and Landscape at the Foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 1740–1860
Eric Proebsting

Chapter 4. A Landscape for Mr. Jefferson’s Retreat
Timothy Trussell

Chapter 5. Ceramics and Jefferson’s Aesthetic Philosophy
Jack Gary

Chapter 6. Slave Housing, Community Formation, and Community Dynamics at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, 1760s–1810s
Barbara J. Heath

Chapter 7. Carved in Stone: Stone Smoking Pipes at Historic Sites in Central Virginia
Lori Lee

Chapter 8. Social Dimensions of Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Slaves’ Uses of Plants at Poplar Forest
Jessica Bowes and Heather Trigg

Chapter 9. Consumerism, Social Relations, and Antebellum Slavery at Poplar Forest
Lori Lee

Chapter 10. Founding Families: Reflections on the Archaeology of Poplar Forest
Stephen A. Mrozowski

Bibliography

List of Contributors

Index