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The Hermitage


5/29/2007	Our location - Hermitage, TN The Hermitage
The Hermitage, just east of Nashville, is the plantation home of Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States, from 1829-1837, Jackson purchased 640 acres in 1804 for $3400. It grew to a 1000 acre plantation, where cotton was the cash crop. In addition, Jackson used part of the plantation for raising race horses. Today, The Hermitage includes, 1120 acres; 32 historic buildings, dozens of architectural sites, 2 springs, a formal garden, a vegetable garden and a cotton patch.
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	The Hermitage.
	The Mansion was completed in 1821 along with a formal garden for Jackson's wife, Rachel. The out buildings included a kitchen, smokehouse and springhouse. In the 1820's brick and log cabins for housing 95 slaves dotted The Hermitage landscape.
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	In 1831 the mansion was enlarged. Added were flanking one-story wings (that housed a library, farm office, and large dining room and a pantry), a two-story entrance portico and copper gutters. These drawings show the evolution of the mansion's architecture over time.
	A domed limestone tomb, with a copper roof, was constructed for Rachel Jackson, who died kin 1828, before Jackson was elected President.
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	(Rear of the mansion) After Jackson's death in 1845 and going forward to 1889, the mansion and farm passed through a number of hands...Andrew Jackson, Jr., his wife Sarah Jackson, and various private owners, during which time the property fell into disrepair.
	(The Spring House) In 1889, Tennessee chartered the Ladies Hermitage Association. Members of the LHA successfully lobbied the Tennessee legislature and the 25 acre core section of the farm was brought under its control. Repairs were made to the buildings and the grounds. In 1897, the Association purchased Jackson's bedroom furnishings. By the 1920's, the LHA had successfully purchased most of the mansion furnishings from the Jackson family and began to enlarge and improve the grounds.
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	(Slave quarters) In the 1930's, the LHA was given the 475 more acres to manage. And in the 1950's and 1960's, the LHA continued to enlarge the property be acquiring surrounding land and historic buildings.

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	(Surrounding countryside) In the 1970's, with Nashville suburbia encroaching, the LHA convinced the State of Tennessee to purchase the remaining portion of The Hermitage plantation which Andrew Jackson, Jr. had sold to private individuals in 1857. This land was converted into The Hermitage Wildlife Management Area and turned over to the LHA in 2002. Today, the LHA manages the 1120 acres, which includes the entire 1050 acre tract that Andrew Jackson owned when he was president.

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	Between 1798 and 1800, skilled craftsman constructed a two-story log farmhouse for original “Hermitage” property owner Nathaniel Hays. When Andrew Jackson purchased the property in 1804, he and his wife Rachel lived in this house prior to the construction of the original mansion in 1821.
	In the 1820s, Jackson converted the abandoned building into a single-story slave cabin, where perhaps dozens of African-American slaves lived for the next thirty years. The alterations were significant, including removal of the first floor, construction of a new brick chimney, whitewashed interior, the removal of all window glass and doors as well as removal of the interior stair, wallpaper, and trim.
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	Rendering of the original 2-story farmhouse.
	Graveyard adjacent to the domed tomb.
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	Andrew Jackson marker next to his grave under the dome.
	Interesting grave stone! Looks like a tree stump.
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	Horse drawn wagon touring The Hermitage grounds.
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