Traveling When We Can: Tour - US Presidents from TN

Tuesday August 28 - Thursday August 30, 2018

For several years we have commented we had never visited the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville (less than 30 miles from our home) and the Hermitage near Nashville! Only a tiny bit of research informed us of a 3rd presidential site in TN - James K. Polk's home and museum in Columbia also near Nashville. Several beautiful days with moderate temperatures in the low 80's inspired us to take a short late summer-early fall adventure - we were off.

We left home and made it to Greeneville and the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in less than an hour. The site is right downtown Greeneville with convenient parking. We toured the home and then watched the video. I kept thinking the voice, the voice who is it...finally it hit me - Fred Thompson - actor and past TN senator. Nice film that clearly explained the highlights of Johnson's presidency - the 17th (1865-1869). Johnson was not popular in some parts of TN since he stayed in the senate after TN left the union during the Civil War. He was also appointed Military Governor of TN. For his second term Lincoln, who was a Republican, chose for his vice president Andrew Johnson, who was a Democrat, and they ran as the Union National Party. They won! After Lincoln's death, he was responsible for implementing a reconstruction program for the US. He was lauded as a strict constitutionalist but criticized by many for his views on slavery. After several battles with Congress, he was impeached by the Republican House but NOT convicted by a one vote margin in the Senate. He returned to Greeneville after his one term presidency and later returned to the Senate representing TN - the only past president to do so.

Museum to left and original home to the right

Statue of Johnson in downtown Greeneville

Tailor Shop inside the museum

Jewlery given to Mrs. Johnson by the daughter of President Polk

We enjoyed our visit - particularly visiting with one of the rangers there Burke Greear - husband of one of Jane's friends. We headed west from Greeneville towards Knoxville. We were changing time zones today so chose to drive on to Knoxville for a late lunch to get our stomachs on the next time zone! Ben chose the Krystal at Strawberry Plains exit - a trip back in time. Jane had not visited a Krystal in years and remarkably it tasted just like it was remembered. That is not always the case - so for the Krystal you can go back again!

As campers we dislike paying high prices for a basic hotel room just for one night - and Nashville is notorious for high priced rooms. We stayed in Lebanon about 15 minutes east of Nashville at a perfectly nice hotel. It was perfectly located - within walking distance of the top 3 Lebanon restaurants on Trip Advisor. We chose Demo's Restaurant - Ben wanted a steak. We chose to split a steak and potato and ordered an extra salad. Perfect amount no leftovers! The food and service were good. It was not outstanding but of good quality and we had no complaints.

Divided steak and potato at Demo's

After a good nights sleep we headed towards the Hermitage arriving soon after it opened at 8:30. It seems after the last few days of moderate temperatures we were experiencing a bit of a heat wave....the temperatures in the high 90's! The Hermitage is on the eastern side of Nashville but is now surrounded with urban sprawl. It would have been a 4 hour wagon drive to reach downtown Nashville in Jackson's time. The Hermitage Association has managed to purchase the land of the entire plantation so the rural atmosphere of the site is mantained today.

There were no crowds at all so we quickly purchased our admission tickets and a ticket for a wagon tour of the entire plantation. We chose to tour the home, take the wagon tour at 10 (the earliest one) and then return later when it would be warmer to the air conditioned museum for a film and to view the exhibits.

The tour of the home was conducted in small groups by period costumed docents. We toured the entire house both upstairs and downstairs. No photos allowed. The most impressive item being the over 180 year old wallpaper mural in the entryway. The home is well maintained and the guides shared interesting information. Our wagon tour left from the rear of the home about 10 minutes after we completed our inside tour. There were about 10 or 11 people on the wagon which was pulled by two trained horses. We traveled around the large plantation to view and hear stories about how the enslaved plantation workers kept the plantation running for the benefit of the Jacksons. The plantation had many crops that provided for the family and enslaved population as well as being sold for profit. Cotton and whiskey being primary ones. A number of the buildings have been preserved but many have been lost to time.

Rear view of Hermitage

Ben waiting for the wagon to arrive

Our wagon awaits! Had very comfy seats!

the larger cabin to left was first home of Andy and Rachel Jackson

After the tours we headed back to the museum to watch the film and view the various exhibits. They did an excellent job of telling the story of Jackson, his life and presidency. There were more people here now but having no school groups made for a much more relaxed visit than the one we had early summer to Mount Vernon where the place was overrun with end of year school trips!

The exhibits were excellent. Jackson was our 7th president (1829 -1837). He is said to have known and spoken with all the 6 previous presidents including Washington. In the archives here are letters to and from Washington and Jackson. Jackson was a controversial president - a Democrat who followed the conservative republican values of Jefferson. He was the first president who no longer had any ties to the British - did not have a British accent and did not dress in the manner of previous presidents - he was the "New America". He was brash, opinionated, and a defender of the common people. He made many enemies and also many loyal followers. Probably his most controversial stance involved the removal of indians from their homelands. On the other hand - he was the first to pay off the national debt and got rid of what was considered a corrupt "national bank". While many laud Jackson as a great president - there are others who do not....sound familiar?

Andy and Rachel Jackson at the Hermitage

Depiction of Battle of New Orleans - which projected Jackson to National Spotlight

We got a stamp in the gift shop and continued into a cafe for a quick lunch. The lunch was not so great and if doing again we would go elsewhere but it was convenient. We left about 12:30 headed around Nashville to visit our 3rd Presidential site in Columbia.

Columbia is about 30 miles south of Nashville. We drove west on not too congested interstate highways passing by Franklin and the Galleria Mall. This was where Jane had spent 4 months as an interim manager for a Red Cross Chapter after her retirement.

The James K. Polk Home and Museum is rather underwhelming after visiting the Hermitage. Polk is a much lesser known president. He served as our 11th President from (1845-1849). He and his wife Sarah lived in several locations but this is the only residence still standing where he lived other than the White House. It was his family home during his years in college and until his marriage. It is a nice two story brick home located a few blocks off the "square" in Columbia. Polk was known as the last president of the Jacksonian Era. He was one of our younger presidents - elected to office when under the age of 50. He came to be Speaker of the House in DC after serving in TN government. He was the first Speaker of the House to become US president. He reached the presidential nomination in an unusual way - as a compromise candidate on the 9th ballot at the convention!

When elected Polk made 4 promises and he fulfilled all of them. He expanded our territory to the Pacific Ocean by negotiating an agreement with Britain for the Oregon Territory establishing our northern border. A battle with Mexico over the Texas border led to victory for the US and the states of California and New Mexico becoming part of the US. Polk also established the first independent treasury of the US - a small detail that had been causing problems since Jackson terminated the corrupt "national bank" years before. Polk also lowered taxes which had been creeping up since Jackson's day. Seems he did quite a lot to influence our country to be such a "lesser known" president. He was a very hard working president - he spent long hours at managing the government while his wife Sarah did much of the negotiations behind the scenes "making the political bargains". She held weekly dinners at the White House that lasted for hours - sometimes with 51 yes - 51 courses where she made political opponents stay until they came up with compromises! A portrait of Polk when he started his presidency and another when he completed it look like he has aged 40 years.

The Polks returned to Nashville and a large home called Polk Place. He died 3 month later - the shortest retirement of any president. Sarah lived on over 40 years before her death. Polk Place was known as a neutral location during the Civil War and Sarah was visited by General of both the North and South. There were issues with the wills of both James and Sarah Polk and state laws. It was 10 years after Sarah's death that the Polk family won over the state of TN to gain the use of the property. Polk had wanted it to be a site similar to the Hermitage but in the end it was destroyed the location of the Capitol Hotel in downtown Nashville today.

This small home and museum does a good job of telling the story of Polk's presidency. A very well informed young man - told us he was 23 - gave an excellent tour. We were the 4th visitors of the day. It is well worth the visit.