Thomas Jefferson began making regular visits to Poplar Forest in 1809, at age 69, to escape the public spotlight. He designed the home, which was America’s first octagonal house, and the landscape surrounding it. ... In the years following Jefferson’s habitation there, the property changed hands, and elements of the landscape and architecture were changed or destroyed.  [Jack] Gary’s job is to use the tools of archeology to unearth the past and put the puzzle pieces of Jefferson’s vision back together.