|
By Keith Farless, Owner of Highland Restoration, Inc.
Poplar Forest was a second plantation owned by Thomas Jefferson. Everyone's heard of Monticello. (Since Jefferson used the same craftsmen to build both plantations, we naturally did much research at Monticello.) His plantation near Lynchburg, VA was more of a get-away. At the time it was built, Poplar Forest was still in a wilderness. As a matter of fact, Jefferson needed a guide to keep him from getting lost his first few times there. During the War of 1812, he hid from the British there. The house was consumed by fire in 1845. All that remained was the brick shell. It was rebuilt around the brick shell soon after the fire, but not to Jefferson's specifications. The restoration involved removing any post Jefferson modifications and additions and reconstructing the house as it would have been during his death.
This project was my internship while attending The North Bennet Street School. My internship there was during the summer of 1996. My initial job was to assist the head preservation carpenter in the reproduction of the skylight. The conservation staff believes this to have been the first skylight in America. Jefferson's' writings indicate that on at least two occasions, the glass in the skylight was shattered during hailstorms. Because of this, and the likelihood that it would happen again, we used restoration glass with an outer layer of bulletproof glass.
The rest of the summer was spent reproducing the original timber frame roof. Since the house is an octagon, this posed as special set of challenges. Except for the head preservation carpenter, I was the only employee with timber framing experience. My primary reason for being there was to learn, but I ended-up teaching as well. I was left much of the time with the other carpenters to oversee the framing.
We started by dismantling and documenting post 1845 work. We even saved rat's nest's to be analyzed by archaeologists. The next step was to begin the timber frame work. We discovered exactly how the house was constructed thru Jefferson's' writings. He made a copy of every letter he sent and kept every letter he received. Since he was President of the United States during the construction, the house had to be built by correspondence. Hence, there is an outstanding archival record of the construction of Poplar Forest.
Jefferson designed a gutter system for this house supported by the joists which extended past the rafters. The facia had to be notched and gutter supports installed with a gradual slope to allow water to gravity feed to the downspouts. The joists and center posts were cut on the property and taken to the roof. Much of the work had to be accomplished in place. The fire and nearly 200 years of age had taken their toll on the house. Many of the walls had deflected from their original positions. We had to custom fit many of the pieces, especially the top plates to fit the shape of the walls. Framing the octagon was some of the most challenging geometrical work I've done. Nothing was square and the fact that the building had lost some of its original shape made the job that much more challenging.
Founding Father Thomas Jefferson's "other" house, Poplar Forest. Note octagonal shape and note the temporary protection for the installation of the historic skylight. |
The skylight in place. This skylight is reputed to be the first in America. |
Skylight, side view. Note "bulletproof" glazing lights in foreground, waiting to be installed. A permissible aftermarket innovation, since Jefferson complained in his notes of hail twice breaking out glass. |
Poplar Forest, architect's model. |
Poplar Forest, architect's plan. |
The demolition process was a deliberate process of discovery, both of building issues and of the people who lived there. This rat's nest, for instance, could have been built by Thomas Jefferson's rat. It was collected for the conservator and archaeologist to study. |
The octagonal plan presents complex roof geometry. It does not help at all when the 200 year old walls are deflected over 2 inches, note string. |
Note complex angle cuts for roof rafters. |
Cutting a rafter end. Note the half round eaves trough floating nearby, used for rough tests of Mr. Jefferson's gutter system. |
Reconstituting Mr. Jefferson's gutter design presented issues, given all the settling and deflection the building had been subject to. Note string terminating at a plastic downspout set up for testing. |
|
