FOREST, Va. (AP) _ Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest is offering a new portal into the former president’s past in Bedford County. The attraction has introduced an iPad application that offers several options for visitors to learn about the original landscape at Jefferson’s private retreat at the close of his presidency. The new app allows the user to stroll through a digital reconstruction of the ornamental grounds, as Jefferson may have experienced them. Users can also change the vegetation or simply learn more about its history. In the fall of 2013, Poplar Forest launched virtual tours using Google Street View technology. When his presidency ended in 1809, Jefferson visited the retreat three or four times a year.
