Home of the People's President

Maybe I shouldn't leave you guessing about this title, or maybe you do know your United States history!  The people's president was Andrew Jackson. From 1819 until 1821 he and his wife Rachel built the Hermitage (meaning of that word is a retreat or refuge). We toured that building during our stay in Nashville. It is one of our nation's oldest and largest historic site museums. The museum includes, besides the manor home; slave cabins and other out buildings, as well as gardens and the Jackson family graveyard. Outside of the immediate area of the mansion is the Hermitage church. 

Hermitage

Andrew Jackson purchased the above property in 1804, but the family initially lived in a two story log cabin until 1821 when the main center part of the mansion pictured above was completed. Rachel Jackson was able to live in the Hermitage until 1828, when she died. That same year Andrew Jackson became president (he served as President from 1829 until 1837). He died at the Hermitage in 1845.

 

Second Story of the First Farm Home 

Andrew Jackson's life encompassed some very tumultuous times in our nation's history. At the age of 13 he was a messenger boy for the Americans during the Revolutionary War. He fought in the War of 1812 as well as the battle of New Orleans. His farm was located in what was then the territory of Tennessee, designated at that time as the "wild west".  Native Americans during that time fought back to keep what they thought was their land, and initially there were also border battles with the Spanish who had purchased the territory. Jackson was revered and reviled by many. He built  his plantation on the backs of slaves. He started producing 200 acres of cotton on his farms, and the more he was able to produce on his own, the more cash he was able to invest in land, slaves, and luxury furnishings for his home.
Speaking of the latter, the wallpaper of the front hall immediately caught our eyes as we began our tour of the Hermitage. Andrew Jackson and his wife bought it when they visited France. The wallpaper, which extends up the stairs and to the second floor, tells the story of the "Odyssey" (a Greek epic poem by Homer). All of the mansion was decorated in 19th century period furnishings and also had a few artifacts used by President Jackson. Quite the place to visit!

 

President Jackson deeded some of the land on the Hermitage as a graveyard for his family. Pictured above is his tomb. The biggest sorrow in his life was the fact that his first wife Rachel did not live in the White House with him. Some claim that she died of a broken heart. She had been married before she married Andrew, and the divorce to her first husband was shrouded with controversy. Divorce was unusual in the late 1700s, as well as the required paperwork. Rumor had it that she was not divorced when she married Andrew, which she and Andrew contested to no avail. Politicians made the most of that scandal, and she realized that the nasty gossip would never stop once she became the First Lady of the land. From what I have read ( "The President's Lady" by Irving Stone) she probably died of a heart attack. Another interesting fact here was that their only son Andrew was adopted; he was a boy from a set of twins fathered by her brother. As she had not been able to produce, her brother and his wife were most generous sharing one of their own with her. I will conclude this posting with a picture from the Hermitage garden, which had some  springtime plants starting to bloom.

 

Trumpet Honeysuckle and Virginia Bluebells

Cheekwood Estate and Gardens

John and I had a goal of seeing a botanical garden while in Nashville, thinking that we just may see some spring flowers and blooming trees. A little bit of research led us to Cheekwood mansion and gardens. Cheekwood has 55 acres of cultivated gardens as well as a 1.5-mile woodland trail.

 

You may notice a ribbon tied around the tree in the picture above. Many of the trees in the gardens of Cheekwood had that same black and red ribbon. It was in memory of the people killed in the Nashville school shooting which had happened a week or so ago.

 

We did not spend as much time touring the gardens as we thought we would- it was an overcast cool day and springtime flowering was just beginning. Instead, we took a tour of the 30,000 square feet mansion pictured above. That is a 1930s home, formerly the home of Mabel Wood Cheek and Leslie Cheek. He was a wholesale grocer who also invested in Cheek Neal Coffee Company, the producers of Maxwell House Coffee. Today it is one of the "most intact country place era estates in America", according to the written information provided to us.  The building of it was inspired by baronial British manor houses, and, as most of the wealthy did back in that time, furnished with itemspurchased by the Cheeks on their trips to Europe.

Pictured above is a marble fireplace, and above it is an antique clock purchased from the Grosvenor House in London.

 In the picture above you are looking at the "transverse hallway". Notice the tapestry on the wall  of the previous room, and also the large beautiful wooden door. That picture may give you an idea of the grandeur of the mansion. Maybe one more picture is needed here, that of the dining room.

Over time the Cheek family amassed and displayed a large collection of paintings, furniture, textiles, silver, and books. Their collection focuses on works of art from the 1870s through WW11. There was a lot to see in this house and we spent most of our day just touring it..We did walk around some of the grounds outside, where we saw the outdoor sculptures of Cheekwood. This is one place I would love to visit again, preferably at summer time!

 

Highlights of Our Time in Nashville

 The weather was overcast and cool during our stay in Nashville, however we only had a few days there so we just had to make the best of it and keep moving on. In my last posting I mentioned some old mansions and gardens which we toured, but I will save them for the next two postings and here give a quick snapshot of different notable places within the environs of  Nashville which we briefly explored.

Nashville is the capital city of Tennessee. In our past travels we usually made it a point to check out the capital building of the different states. It was a mistake trying to tour this one. The capital building is located on one of the highest hills in Nashville. No parking is available near the capital, it is only for the legislators when the house and senate is in session. So we climbed the steps pictured above. The building was erected in 1859. We had missed the last tour of the day, but I happened to listen in on the last few minutes of that tour and learned that in 1866 a particularly bitter fight in the legislature happened over the ratification of the 14th Amendment,which granted citizenship to African Americans. A shot was fired from the stairs above the first flight of stairs which put a chip in the handrail. The Amendment was opposed by many in general assembly. The chip was an interesting feature of the building, as well as some wall murals and ceiling frescoes. Protests happened at this capital a day after we were there, which were in regard to the firing of two African American legislators who had objected to the availability of guns in Tennessee.

Nashville is located on the Cumberland River, pictured above. River cruises are available, however the boats were not running while we were there. Also pictured above is Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans as well the Tennessee State University Tigers. We heard the TSU Band play at the Ole Opry Show which we attended while in Nashville; that was a bit of departure from the the usual music which we heard that evening! But it is a good sounding marching band.

Home of the Grand Ole Opry

About a 10 minute walk from the building above is the Gaylord Opryland Resort. No, we did not stay there while in  Nashville, but did visit it just to look at some of its sights.

When John mentioned a riverboat cruise, this is what I thought he was talking about- but there is a waterway within the resort. The hotel is very large with 9 restaurants and bars. If you want a destination Opryland wedding this would be the place- it has 6 ballrooms.  It is a beautiful place with many available rooms, a bit more expensive than the hotel we chose for our visit to Nashville.

 

 

 

 

A Trip to Nashville

 John and I had a week free with no doctor's appointments or babysitting requires ( our daughter's family was in Florida).  We had to go somewhere, preferably south to see springtime in all of its glory. In St.Louis the redbud trees were starting to pop out, but that was all. We just had to see more than that, as well as some green- maybe trees with leaves. Winter can be so grey and we were so done with that! Nashville is not much further south than St.Louis, but we soon discovered that it had a bit more to offer in the way of springtime at this time of the year. Unfortunately, our first day in Nashville was overcast and a bit cool to our taste. But that was still okay as we were out and about, doing something different than our usual routine back home!  The weather did get better before we returned home!

In 1897 Nashville held a Centennial Exposition to celebrate Tennessee's first 100 years of statehood. At the close of the six month Exposition all of the buildings were dismantled except the Parthenon. Back in the time it was designed as a Fine Arts Building. In the 1920s its pediments were crumbling and the plaster decaying. The building was not made of any permanent materials. The city authorized the reconstruction of the building with permanent materials. It was to be a complete replica of the original Athenian temple,inside and out. What had been the basement of the old building became gallery space to exhibit fine art. The Nashville Parthenon reopened in 1931, and the city gained the nickname "Athens of the South".  It is a good distinction as there is no where else in the world a replica of the Parthenon. The title Athena Parthenon translates into "Temple of the Maiden".  In Greek mythology Athena, born from the head of her Father Zeus, inherited her Dad's power and wisdom. She is considered a goddess of wisdom and useful arts, as well as a protector of cities. In 438BCE Athena was the protector and patron of Athens Greece.

When we first entered the Nashville Parthenon we were on the lower level where there were exhibits detailing the history of the building, and also the Cowan Gallery of American Art. On the next level, in the East and West Galleries, we saw Athena. The modern copy of her was sculpted between 1982 and 1990 by Nashville artist Alan LeQuire. It is made of gypsum cement, reinforced with fiber glass on a steel frame and gilded with 8 pounds of gold. She stands 41'10" tall. The statue of Nike, goddess of victory, is in her right hand. She stands at 6'4" and has in her hand a laurel wreath with which she is preparing to crown Athena.  Nike is pictured below. Hard to believe that she is over 6' high!

One last picture here is that of the shield of Athena.

It is fifteen feet in diameter and is also awesome to see up close! On the exterior is a depiction of the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. In the center of the shield is the grotesque head of Medusa, slain by Perseus with assistance from Athena. Perseus was so thankful for her help that he gave her the head to put on her shield as an additional defense weapon. Greek mythology is fascinating, I remember learning a little of the stories in my high school Latin classes.  We had a couple more interesting days in Nashville touring the Hermitage as well as the Cheekwood mansion and  gardens. More on them next!