Somehow almost lost in history, Poplar Forest in Bedford County, got new life in 1984 when a small group of local people (Corporation for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest) took on the challenge of restoring it. Poplar Forest is the second of two homes that Thomas Jefferson built for himself. It is located in Forest, near Lynchburg.

This octagon-shaped structure, at first glance resembling Monticello although much smaller, immediately reflects Jefferson’s architectural tastes. A personal retreat, Poplar Forest was the place where he came to relax, study and read, visiting three or four times a year and staying from a couple weeks to several months. It was a three-day trip from Monticello.

A Barrels, Bottles & Cask tour focusing on the beverages and meals that Jefferson and the plantation’s enslaved community consumed was recently held at Poplar Forest. With an excellent guide, it was like spending an afternoon with Mr. Jefferson. You could just imagine him stepping into the room at any moment.

The tour began stepping into the kitchen located at ground level where a glass of lemonade awaited all guests. Jefferson’s kitchen was considered quite modern for its time with a method of having hot water and keeping foods warm with coals from the fireplace. Lemons were very expensive then, so were only used for special occasions. This would have been Hanna’s kitchen. She was born in 1770 at Monticello but moved with her family to Poplar Forest as a teenager. By 1811 she was Jefferson’s cook and housekeeper. She did his washing and greeted visitors in his absence.

Next came the dining room, where the walls rise to a clear glass ceiling allowing lots of light and sun. Beer was served here. Wine, beer or cider was always served with meals whether breakfast or dinner. Water was unfit to drink and never used for consumption. Even the ice, which Jefferson always obtained from his neighbors as he did not have an ice house, was only used to keep items cool. Either the container was placed in the ice or it was spread all around it. Making beer was considered woman’s work and Jefferson’s mother made his beer.

The Jeffersons ate only two meals a day, an early breakfast and dinner served around 3 p.m. Jefferson could almost be considered a vegetarian as he only ate meat “as a condiment to my vegetables which constitute my principal diet.” Fresh spring green peas and macaroni and cheese were among his favorites. He enjoyed Parmesan cheese after learning how it was made while he was in France.

Tea with fresh peaches followed and was served in the parlor. Fruit trees were in abundance on the 4,819-acre plot (now 617 acres). And peaches were one of Jefferson’s favorite fruits. Serving tea was done mostly at social, political or neighborhood gatherings. Jefferson would usually have a cup of tea before retiring at night.

Next, the tour went into the side room where white wine was served. Both red and white wines were made there but Jefferson imported many wines. The glasses were smaller than those used in today’s world and it was the daily drink. Whiskey was made on the farm but Jefferson himself only used it for medicinal purposes, although he would serve it to guests.

It was then down to the basement next to Jefferson’s wine cellar where a glass of claret, his favorite wine, was served. And then came the tour’s end. From the cellar to the backyard under the portico is where ice cream with fresh peaches was served. There is a myth that Jefferson brought ice cream to America from France, but there were ice cream parlors in New York during the Revolutionary War. However, he did write the first ice cream recipe in America.

Thomas Jefferson and his wife Martha inherited the plantation from her father in 1773. Jefferson managed the plantation from afar but he and his family did spend two months here in 1781 when they left Monticello to elude British capture.

In 1806 Jefferson laid the foundation for his octagonal house. Martha never lived long enough to see the house at Poplar Forest. She died at a young age in 1782. He made his last trip to Poplar Forest in 1823 when he settled his grandson on the property who sold it two years after his grandfather’s death in 1826. Subsequent owners altered it to suit their needs and in 1845 a fire led the owners to convert Poplar Forest to a practical farmhouse. The property continued to be privately owned until 1983.