About 200 feet north of this location, a fence marked the edge of the "curtilage." This sixty-one acre area separated the house and designed landscape from the larger plantation. In 1813, Jefferson noted that he had "inclosed and divided it into suitable appendages to a Dwelling house," and had begun its "improvement by planting trees of use and ornament."

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Four roads linked the main house with the outside world. Internal roads, such as the one that encircled the house and core landscape, carried people and goods within the plantation.

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A portion of the curtilage fence has been recreated along the front entrance drive. This traditional "Virginia" or "snake" fence is built of hand-split Black Locust rails stacked loosely in a zig-zag pattern. As in Jefferson's day, the bottom rails rest on fieldstones to prevent rotting from contact with the ground.

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Archaeologists discovered a series of planting holes that likely define the inner and outer edges of a segment of Jefferson's circular road. He described the road as 540 yards in circumference.

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The pattern of planting holes is nearly identical to Jefferson's plan to line both sides of the road with Paper Mulberry trees planted 20 feet apart.