Hermitage
American history buffs heading to Nashville will want to visit this famous Tennessee plantation, once the home of President Andrew Jackson and First Lady Rachel.
Some years after moving with his wife into the “Indian-fortified” two-story log farmhouse purchased from Nathaniel Hays in 1804, Jackson promptly remodeled the home and renamed it “Hermitage.” Jackson got to work and enlisted a group of skilled contractors, carpenters, and masons to construct a federal-style, two-story brick mansion, as well as new brick slave dwellings and an elaborate formal garden for his wife Rachel to wander at her leisure. Today, Andrew Jackson, aka “Old Hickory,” is not only remembered as the daring duelist, formidable General, the first Governor of Florida, and American hero but as a tremendously successful and incredibly wealthy plantation owner.
Guests of the meticulously restored and lovingly maintained Hermitage Plantation, once Jackson’s refuge from the public eye, are afforded a glimpse of the seventh president’s time on the “farm” (as he called it). Here he pursued a comfortable, self-sufficient existence with his wife and their adopted family as well as his life’s true passion for raising racehorses. Meander the breathtaking acreage and gardens, view the enslaved memorials and slavery-related artifacts, and visit what remains of the original historic log home, disassembled and re-purposed by Jackson after moving into the Mansion, as well as the stately tomb where he and his beloved wife, Rachel, are buried. The Hermitage Museum Store offers guests a fine selection of books, home decor, gourmet gifts, and delightful collectibles, that perfect memento of your plantation excursion awaits!
