Thomas Jefferson designed the sunken lawn to accommodate the lower level of the house and form an area similar to a plain parterre or bowling green. Enslaved laborers led by Phil Hubbard, working on their own time for pay, excavated the lawn and built the mounds that flank the house with its backfill. In 1812, Jefferson directed his overseer to plant flowering shrubs on the banks.

Archaeologists located these plantings (blue markers) during excavations of the sunken lawn. The plantings were recognizable as dark organic stains in the soil. Pollen grains recovered from these stains could be linked to two of the five shrub species specified by Jefferson. Phytoliths (microscopic plant silicas recovered during excavation) suggest the lawn itself was planted in turf, while native grasses and weeds also grew on the banks with the shrubs.

In addition, archaeologists located an accompanying drainage system. The relationship of the drain to the planting holes and lawn surface indicates that Jefferson redesigned the lawn sometime after 1814 (white markers).

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Show me all markers in:  Forest, VA  |  Bedford County  |  24551  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

What happened to Poplar Forest after Jefferson's death? Historical
Why build the mounds? Historical
Poplar Forest Planting Memorandum 1812 Historical
Plantation Worker Housing Historical
How was the landscape partitioned? Historical
Commemorating Lewis and Clark Historical
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Samuel Miller
Callaway-Steptoe Cemetery
New London Academy

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