Thomas Jefferson, the architect of such buildings as Monticello, the University of Virginia, and Virginia's State Capitol , built the more remote and lesser-known Poplar Forest in Bedford County, Virginia as a private retreat from a very public life. The Octagon house on an estate of 4,800 acres (19 km²) inherited in 1773 from Jefferson's father-in-law was begun in 1806 during his term as United States President, and served as his frequent residence in his retirement years.