Monthly Sunday Afternoon Lecture to be hosted by Martinsville Henry County Historical Society

The Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society will host its monthly Sunday Afternoon Lecture, “Thomas Jefferson’s Architecture” with Peter Marshall, on Sunday, July 16, 2023, at 3:00 P.M.

Thomas Jefferson was America's first architect who mentored several of the nation's first professional architects. His creations include public works, such as The University of Virginia and the Virginia state capitol, and private structures, such as Monticello and Poplar Forest. Marshall’s presentation will highlight Jefferson’s creations, both famous and obscure.

Peter Marshall is a TV producer/director/writer/editor/videographer who has worked for both commercial and public television stations. He has won three regional Emmy awards. He produced his first Jefferson-related segment about Poplar Forest for WVIR-TV in Charlottesville in 1988. In 1990 he produced a documentary about the state capitol for public television in the Washington, DC, market. These two projects sparked his interest in Thomas Jefferson as an architect. He is currently seeking funding to produce an hour-long documentary for public television.

John Phillips, Historical Society President, stated, “As a student at the College of William and Mary, Thomas Jefferson purchased his first book on the subject and later assembled one of the largest libraries on architecture in America. He was particularly influenced by the classical style of Andrea Palladio, who emphasized symmetry, proportion, and the use of columns. These principles then came to define the architecture of the early United States.”

Admission to the Sunday Afternoon Lecture series is free, made possible by corporate sponsors, Carter Bank & Trust and The Lester Group. The Historic Henry County Courthouse is fully handicap accessible.