Thomas Jefferson's dedication to and love for science has become evident thanks to the discovery of a chemistry lab on the premises of the University of Virginia, the university that Jefferson founded.
It was while renovating the iconic Rotunda that workers stumbled upon a chemical hearth hidden behind a wall. Officials feel that the hearth may have been designed for use by the school's first professor of natural history, John Emmet, reported The Huffington Post.
The lab was likely constructed sometime between 1822 and 1826 and survived a major fire that destroyed much of the building in 1895, reported ABC News.
Brian Hogg, senior historic preservation planner in the Office of the Architect for the University, said in a news release that the room was a "very exciting surprise. This may be the oldest intact example of early chemical education in this country," according to the Examiner.
"For the Professor of Chemistry, such experiments as require the use of furnaces, cannot be exhibited in his ordinary lecturing room. 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 wrote in a letter to Joseph Cabell, a member of the Board of Visitors, clearly understanding that the chemistry room would pose unique problems and required unique solutions, reads the University of Virginia website.
The Board of Visitors agreed, and in 1824, permission was granted stating the "rooms in the Basement story of the Rotunda, shall be, one of them for a Chemical laboratory; and the others for any necessary purpose to which they may be adapted."
The chemical hearth will become part of a permanent display after the ongoing renovations, according to university officials.
