Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest — Attraction in Timberlake

What a fun and interesting couple of hours we had exploring this historic landmark! This impressive structure was designed and built by one of our greatest presidents and most beloved founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. It's a beautiful building filled with typical Jeffersonian quirkiness, i.e. his love of symmetry and octagons(not the UFC one!), his hatred of stairs, the landscape design which had to include the planting of 13 specific trees to represent the 13 original colonies, the skylight, which is still the largest in a private residence, and much more. We were guided through all the details by a woman who was both well informed and engaging. There was also a short lecture and tour given by an archaeologist who is conducting a dig on the grounds which is also included in the tour. One of my favorite pieces on the tour was a letter from his cook that proclaimed her love of our Lord Jesus and the need to follow Him. There is a large gift shop chock full with items that are related to the period. This whole experience was utterly amazing, to walk the very grounds walked by Jefferson himself and see his personality contained in his architecture all come to life right before your eyes, it's a great way to spend a couple hours and remember our heritage...

If you're a tourist, skip this one. The grounds and "trails" are kept nice and employees are nice. Unfortunately, there's not really any "Poplar Forest" left. The site now lies between a subdivision and golf course. Without full foliage on trees, you can see and hear the subdivision (lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc.) and watch golfers with a busy roadway behind that. The "trails" are just hard-packed gravel that follows along a hard-packed road that goes from the house to a rear parking lot, or you can walk along beside the golf course. In either case, know you will be in full sun and in no way walking in trees of any kind. My guess is this is heavily used by locals to walk dogs or jog. There was nothing peaceful about it.

The house is $23/person (March 2024) to walk through or even walk around the outside of it. The decor is "set up to look like Thomas Jefferson's retreat house may have looked according to the employee in the gift shop. Despite it being a busy Saturday, no guided tours were available so you'll do a self-guided tour.

I'm certain I'll never go back and do not recommend it. There's just no reason to go unless you live in one of the surrounding neighborhoods and want a place to...

Sorta interesting place to visit...not at the top of my list to visit. Admired by the building skills and craftmanship of black slaves...free labor...ashame we have to pay to see it now. There should be a free month sometime during the year, come on. Tour guides are nice people...they have a scripted version of this place. How many slaves were whipped...hung...how many hours were they forced to work, including young girls and boys without food or water...how many died from exhaustion...how many slaves did he have? How long do you think it took to build this getaway for him using men, women, and children 12 or more hours everyday using only your hands and the sweat off your back, no mechanical equipment? Let's share that piece of history with everyone visiting. There are generations of family members of those slaves still in that area. Many were fathered by him. It would be awesome for all people to see the good and bad that took place here and to hear from relatives from ALL of his decendants. Let the truth be...