Commemorating Lewis and Clark

In 2003, surveyors placed a monument on the lawn northwest of the house to mark the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Its brass survey disk bears the design of Jefferson's Indian Peace Medal, which Lewis and Clark gave to tribal leaders they met on their journey as a symbol of peace and friendship; it shows a Native American hand clasping a hand representing the U.S. government, and its central triangle contains a point for determining the monument's exact location. Similar disks have been placed nationally at sites associated with the expedition. The north lawn also preserves Tulip Poplars that Thomas Jefferson called "the Juno of our groves," comparing the species to the queen of the Roman gods. Native to Virginia, Tulip Poplars are the tallest trees of the eastern forest, reaching 50 to 150 feet in height. Jefferson used them at Poplar Forest and Monticello and recommended them to other gardeners in America and Europe. The Tulip Poplars on the north lawn are the last survivors of a larger grove that grew there before Jefferson designed his retreat; tree ring counts of two felled Tulip Poplars formerly part of the grove date them to the second half of the 18th century, and Jefferson later incorporated these trees into his design as a naturalistic grove. In 1813, Jefferson wrote that he was improving the property by planting "trees of use and ornament." These improvements included native trees and more exotic imports from the South Pacific and Europe. In the winter of 1812-1813, gardeners planted more than 300 trees individually, in rows, and in clumps within the 61-acre enclosure surrounding the house.

Forest, Virginia · United States