Presidential Places: The Hermitage
The Hermitage is a historical plantation and museum located in Davidson County, Tennessee, USA, 10 miles east of downtown Nashville. The plantation was owned by President Andrew Jackson from 1804 until his death at the Hermitage in 1845. Today it is a National Historic Landmark.
Jackson and his wife Rachel moved into the existing two-story log blockhouse, which was built to withstand Indian attacks. After Jackson built the main house, it was disassembled and rebuilt as two one-story buildings which were used as slave quarters. A part of it still stands behind The Hermitage. Initially Jackson operated a cotton farm with nine slaves, but this number gradually grew to 44 slaves by 1820 as the farm expanded to 1,000 acres.
The original Hermitage mansion was a two-story, eight-room, Federal-style brick building built between 1819 and 1821. In November 1828, Jackson was elected 7th President of the United States. His wife Rachel died the following month. In 1831, while Jackson was away in the White House, he had the mansion remodeled with flanking one-story wings (one with a library and the other with a large dining room and pantry), a two-story entrance portico with Doric columns and a small rear portico. Jackson also had a temple and monument built for Rachel's grave in the garden. Craftsmen completed the domed limestone tomb with a copper roof in 1832.
In 1834, a chimney fire seriously damaged all of the building with the exception of the dining-room wing. Jackson rebuilt the strucrure two years later. The entry hall is decorated with block-printed wallpaper by Joseph Dufour et Cie of Paris, depicting scenes from Telemachus' visit to the island of Calypso. Many of Jackson's furnishings and mementos are preserved in the house, which was guarded by Union troops during the Civil War, as it had been sold to the State of Tennessee by Andrew Jackson Jr. in 1856. The tomb of Andrew and Rachel Jackson is located in the Hermitage garden.
In 1889, the Hermitage was opened to the public as a museum, both of Jackson's life and the antebellum South in general. Each year, the home receives more than a quarter million visitors, making it the fourth most-visited presidential residence in the country (after the White House, Mount Vernon, and Monticello). The property was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
The Hermitage escaped disaster during the 1998 Nashville tornado outbreak. An tornado crossed the property at approximately 4:00 p.m. CDT on April 16, 1998, missing the house and gravesite, but toppling many trees that had reportedly been planted by Jackson himself nearly 200 years earlier. The trees had once hidden the house from view of passers-by on U.S. Route 70, but it is now in plain sight. Using the wood from the fallen trees, the Gibson guitar company produced 200 limited edition "Old Hickory" guitars. The first guitar produced was presented to the Smithsonian.
Following is more information on the Hermitage:
Website: http://www.thehermitage.com/
Location: 4580 Rachel's Lane, Nashville, Tennessee
Hours of operation: Open daily 9:00 am–4:30 pm from October 16 - March 31; Open daily 8:30 am-5:00 pm from April 1 - October 15.
Twitter: @7thPresident
Jackson and his wife Rachel moved into the existing two-story log blockhouse, which was built to withstand Indian attacks. After Jackson built the main house, it was disassembled and rebuilt as two one-story buildings which were used as slave quarters. A part of it still stands behind The Hermitage. Initially Jackson operated a cotton farm with nine slaves, but this number gradually grew to 44 slaves by 1820 as the farm expanded to 1,000 acres.
The original Hermitage mansion was a two-story, eight-room, Federal-style brick building built between 1819 and 1821. In November 1828, Jackson was elected 7th President of the United States. His wife Rachel died the following month. In 1831, while Jackson was away in the White House, he had the mansion remodeled with flanking one-story wings (one with a library and the other with a large dining room and pantry), a two-story entrance portico with Doric columns and a small rear portico. Jackson also had a temple and monument built for Rachel's grave in the garden. Craftsmen completed the domed limestone tomb with a copper roof in 1832.
In 1834, a chimney fire seriously damaged all of the building with the exception of the dining-room wing. Jackson rebuilt the strucrure two years later. The entry hall is decorated with block-printed wallpaper by Joseph Dufour et Cie of Paris, depicting scenes from Telemachus' visit to the island of Calypso. Many of Jackson's furnishings and mementos are preserved in the house, which was guarded by Union troops during the Civil War, as it had been sold to the State of Tennessee by Andrew Jackson Jr. in 1856. The tomb of Andrew and Rachel Jackson is located in the Hermitage garden.
In 1889, the Hermitage was opened to the public as a museum, both of Jackson's life and the antebellum South in general. Each year, the home receives more than a quarter million visitors, making it the fourth most-visited presidential residence in the country (after the White House, Mount Vernon, and Monticello). The property was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
The Hermitage escaped disaster during the 1998 Nashville tornado outbreak. An tornado crossed the property at approximately 4:00 p.m. CDT on April 16, 1998, missing the house and gravesite, but toppling many trees that had reportedly been planted by Jackson himself nearly 200 years earlier. The trees had once hidden the house from view of passers-by on U.S. Route 70, but it is now in plain sight. Using the wood from the fallen trees, the Gibson guitar company produced 200 limited edition "Old Hickory" guitars. The first guitar produced was presented to the Smithsonian.
Following is more information on the Hermitage:
Website: http://www.thehermitage.com/
Location: 4580 Rachel's Lane, Nashville, Tennessee
Hours of operation: Open daily 9:00 am–4:30 pm from October 16 - March 31; Open daily 8:30 am-5:00 pm from April 1 - October 15.
Twitter: @7thPresident