In my quest to visit all presidential and first lady sites, I knew I had to visit Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage while in Nashville recently. It is a beautiful place to learn more about this complicated president and the sad story of his first lady.
History
Andrew Jackson purchased the land that now encompasses the Hermitage in 1804 when he was forced to sell his larger farm and home nearby due to financial debts. He and his wife, Rachel, moved into a log cabin on this property, and over the years, they turned the farm into a large plantation. A larger home was built between 1819 and 1821 and reflected Jackson’s success.
Rachel took an active role in furnishing the grand new home, picking out the Greek literature-themed mural wallpaper in the front hall. While Rachel and Andrew didn’t have children of their own, their house was always full of relatives like her nieces and nephews, including their nephew-turned-adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr.
Rachel died unexpectedly at the Hermitage in December of 1828, just weeks before Andrew Jackson became president. She was buried in her beloved garden while the grieving president-elect went to Washington. During Jackson’s presidency, the mansion was remodeled extensively, but he made sure to keep many of Rachel’s choices like the wallpaper. However, just a few years later, the home was almost completely destroyed by fire. All that was left was the brick exterior. Jackson had the home rebuilt to resemble a Greek temple, and also insisted Rachel’s Greek wallpaper be replicated as it was (it was out of print but was found in another home that was being sold). The home was completed in 1837 and remained in the family until Andrew Jackson III moved out in 1893.
The Ladies’ Hermitage Association then took over the mansion and its grounds, opening it as a museum restored to its 1837 appearance. It is considered one of the best preserved presidential homes in the nation (80% of its furnishings are original!), is the second oldest presidential museum in America (only Mount Vernon is older), and is the fourth most visited presidential home (following the White House, Mount Vernon, and Monticello).
Visit
Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage is located just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, and its location near the airport makes it an easy place to visit before or after a flight. To guarantee your tour of the mansion, be sure to buy your tickets ahead of time here. Make sure you arrive 30-45 minutes before your tour time to ensure you get through the museum and have time to walk to the mansion.
As you park and walk in, don’t miss the sign denoting that the Marquis de Lafayette visited here in 1825.
Head to the visitor center and get a map.
You’ll enter the museum where you don’t want to miss the 17-minute movie about Andrew Jackson and his life. The movie is appropriate for kids ages 8 and up and doesn’t shy away from Jackson’s faults as well as highlighting his rise to power from an impoverished childhood.
After the movie, visit the media guide desk to scan the QR code for the interactive guide to the grounds. There is also a family-friendly QR code for kids. If you’d prefer using the site’s mobile guides, they are available as well.
The first part of the museum is a long hallway listing Andrew Jackson’s timeline from his hardscrabble childhood in the Carolinas to his military heroics at the Battle of New Orleans.
Don’t miss looking on the right side as you walk to learn more about the enslaved workers at the Hermitage.
My favorite artifact is at the end of the hallway where Rachel’s dress for a ball given in their honor in New Orleans is displayed.
The museum behind the dress is small but chock full of artifacts and information about Andrew Jackson’s political and personal life. My favorite part is the small display about Rachel and her sad life (see my Booking It Through History: First Ladies post all about Rachel from a few months ago). The display includes her personal hymnal, her original gravestone (note the different spelling of her name!), and the miniature Andrew often wore after her death.
Kids will like matching up the various items Jackson wore in a well-known portrait!
The museum discusses the political ramifications of Jackson’s presidency, from the removal of Native Americans from ancestral lands to his shutdown of the nullification crisis of 1832-33. Jackson uttered the famous words, “The Union must and shall be preserved,” which is engraved on his statue in New Orleans.
About ten minutes before your house tour is scheduled to begin, be sure to leave the museum and wind your way along the paths to the mansion. The first glimpse of it is breathtaking!
Your mansion tour will begin at the front porch where you’ll learn about the building and expansion of the home.
Once inside, photography is not allowed, but you can see the rooms on the mansion’s website here. The tour encompasses the entry hallway with its still beautiful Greek literature wallpaper and the front and back parlors. This picture was taken of the back parlor when photos were allowed outside.
The downstairs bedrooms include the one where President Jackson died in 1845. The bed is the very one he died in, and Rachel’s portrait still hangs on the wall across from the bed. She was the first thing he saw when he woke up and the last thing he saw as he went to sleep.
After seeing the library and office, the tour will take you up the backstairs to the children’s bedrooms. The Jackson grandchildren all had to share one bedroom (up to 5 boys were there at one time!) while the sole granddaughter got her own bedroom across the hall. Kids will enjoy seeing some of the Jackson family toys.
The other two bedrooms on the second floor were for guests, the larger bedroom for distinguished guests like President-elect James and Sarah Polk who visited Jackson on their way to Washington, DC for Polk’s inauguration in 1845. It was the last time Old Hickory and Young Hickory saw each other as Jackson passed away soon afterwards. The back bedroom was kept for lesser known guests where they squeezed in as many as possible!
The tour will take you back downstairs to see the dining room. Pictures are allowed of this room once you step outside.
Kids will like to see the kitchen house, separate from the main house.
Walk down the path leading away from the house to visit the grounds. Take in the beautiful back facade of the home!
Head first to the garden where you will see the Jackson tomb.
I love Rachel’s epithet. They had a true love, and I always wonder what a difference her gentle spirit may have made on him as president. “A being so gentle, and yet so virtuous.”
Walk back to the path and head toward the rear of the property to see the original cabin that Andrew and Rachel first lived in after purchasing the land. Along the way, you can tour Alfred’s cabin. Alfred was a long-time resident of the Hermitage, born into slavery and then serving as a caretaker during the move to open it as a historic site. He is buried alongside the Jacksons in the family cemetery. Learn more about his life here.
Follow the path to go past the cotton field and end up at the first Hermitage cabin which was repurposed by Jackson for the enslaved. There are several displays about the hundreds of enslaved workers who lived here.
There’s also an archaeological site that uncovered the remains of another enslaved cabin displayed.
Take in the beautiful view of the grounds from here. It’s especially pretty in the fall! We saw a herd of deer jumping over the fence just yards away!
Walk the path back that takes you by the springhouse and carriage house.
The path will take you back to the visitor center where you don’t want to miss the excellent gift shop. I was especially excited to see my friend Libby McNamee’s book there! I loved seeing two of the books I read for my Booking It Through History: First Ladies project also highlighted.
For more history, drive out of the parking lot and take a left to visit the Hermitage Church and site of Tulip Grove where Andrew Jackson Donelson and his wife who served as Jackson’s White House hostess, Emily, lived. The interiors may not be open at either site, but you can view the exteriors. You can also visit the enslaved memorial.
Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage is one of the best preserved presidential homes open to visitors. While Jackson’s policies are controversial, it’s still important to walk in the footsteps of all who lived here, including his tragic wife and enslaved workers, to remember their stories and to learn more about our country’s history.
Helpful hints:
- Cost: $20-27/adult; $13-17/youth (depends on grounds only tour versus mansion tour)
- Recommended: ages 10 and up (under 10 would enjoy the grounds)
- Tour time: 2-3 hours
- Gift shop onsite and online
- Transportation: The site is only accessible via car with plenty of onsite parking.
- Dining options: The museum has its own restaurant, FKS Kitchen, along with an onsite winery. There are plenty of restaurants along Route 70 near the museum.
- Nearby hotels: The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is a short drive away and has an indoor waterpark and special holiday events that kids will love! Nashville is close by, and I love staying at the Hermitage’s hotel namesake, also called The Hermitage. Nashville has many amazing hotels so check out its tourism site for choices.
- Nearby attractions include: Gaylord Opryland Hotel Waterpark and ICE! holiday events, Grand Ole Opry, and Nashville with its country music venues and historic sites like the Parthenon and the Tennessee State Museum
- Other Jackson historic sites include: Statues in New Orleans (see below picture), Washington, DC, and Raleigh, North Carolina; Museum of the Waxhaws, North Carolina; see also my post of historic sites related to Rachel Jackson
Books to Read:
All links are Amazon affiliate links. You can visit my Bookshop.org shop to support independent bookstores and creators. I also encourage you to look at the books recommended on the museum’s website as well.
Adult/Young Adult
- American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
- The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson
- Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle That Shaped America’s Destiny
- A Being So Gentle: The Frontier Love Story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson
- The President’s Lady: A Novel about Rachel and Andrew Jackson
Middle Grade
- Who Was Andrew Jackson?
- Andrew Jackson (Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents)
- The Big Book of American Presidents: Fascinating Facts and True Stories about U.S. Presidents and Their Families
- Dolley Madison and the War of 1812: America’s First Lady (Courageous Women in American History)
Picture Books
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