Thomas Jefferson-designed chemistry lab unearthed at University of Virginia

Thomas Jefferson was a man of many talents, and building design was one such talent.

Dating from the 1820s, a "chemical hearth" with links to Jefferson has been unearthed at the University of Virginia during a renovation project at the school's rotunda.

The university, founded by the former president in 1819, had its science building built during the 1820s under Jefferson's designs and supervision. So that water needn't be pumped to the upper floors of the building, Jefferson wrote a letter detailing the designs intended for the classroom:


"For the Professor of Chemistry, such experiments as require the use of furnaces, cannot be exhibited in his ordinary lecturing room,"Jefferson wrote. "We therefore prepare the rooms under the oval rooms of the ground floor of the Rotunda for furnaces, stoves &c. These rooms are of 1,000 square feet area each."


Jefferson died in 1826, while the walls to the hearth were sealed shut in the mid-1800s. Curiously enough, when a fire ruined most of the building in 1895, the hearth, being walled off, remained untouched--yet still forgotten. It remained unknown during a previous major renovation in the 1970s.

Until now, that is. Since most hearths of the era have been destroyed, finding one still intact--and connected to American history--is, as Matt Schiedt, project manager of the restoration at the rotunda says, "unique."

Jefferson's varied "unique"ness is why we always say, "What the hell did Millard Fillmore do again?" to this day.