The Hermitage

One of the things l enjoy the most about our RVing journey is the ability to visit so many of the historical sites that are part of our history and give a personal touch to our past. Just outside of Nashville is the home of our 7th President, Andrew Jackson. It strikes me that our early presidents had amazing experience and selflessness that they brought to their service of this country. I often wonder, where did we go wrong after that?-but I digress.

At 13, Jackson served in the Revolutionary War as a runner and messenger. He came to national prominence as the heroic leader in the victory against the British in the 1812 Battle for New Orleans. He eventually became president, but always considered himself to be a farmer at heart. His life and presidency is an interesting study in service and contradictions, especially in regards to slavery. He was a strong advocate of federalism and would have been dismayed at Tennessee and his own family siding with the Confederacy during the Civil War. While President, there was talk of some states leaving the union. He made clear to the governor most outspoken on this issue, that he would send federal troops and hang him in the public square, if he continued on this course.

The Hermitage was his farm and home for much of his life, but he was often away in service to his country. The history of his home and life there is an impressive story in itself. The farm is preserved as it was during his years after he returned from two terms as President and where he spent his final years.

The museum and grounds, along with the guides provide an excellent glimpse into both the man and life on the farm in the pre Civil War period. One of the stories you will want to explore is: how did a former slave who worked at the plantation, named Alfred, come to be buried near President Jackson and his beloved wife Rachel in the garden.

This is a must see historical site. Take the wagon ride to the farm fields to hear where and how the field slaves lived and worked.

Back in Nashville, TN

As we continue south, we decided to make a stop in Nashville, TN. Our last visit was a quick one and the only real activity was a lunch cruise on the General Jackson. So this time we stayed at the Two Rivers campground, very close to Opryland. I would recommend this park for a visit here.

On our first night, we headed over to the Grand Old Opry and caught the Friday night show. I was a bit surprised to find that Little Jimmy Dickens was still performing along with several other very senior entertainers. Dickens announced that he was pleased to still be performing at 89. The most current group to perform was Rascal Flats.

We also did a tour of the downtown area and found it to be little changed from years past. This is a good place to be if you like country music, and a great place if you like to enjoy it in a bar setting. The area was busy, but not booming.

We particularly wanted to see the Parthenon, since this was something we were not aware of during past visits. It is an important part of Nashville history and is the only full scale reproduction of the original in Athens, Greece. Having seen both, I can say this one is in better shape, but does not have the aura of the original built in the fifth century BC

A Guided Tour

We came to the area to visit with Helen and Jim. They have lived in the area all their lives and have a great deal of local knowledge. They were kind enough to take the time from their busy schedule to show us some of the local sights.

Our tour demonstrated again that there is always an interesting history in places you would never suspect. We started at the local county museum in Jasper, IN. Now, we have been in many county and town museums across the country, but this was one of the best. It was also the largest we have seen. It is located in a large former manufacturing plant and has all the usual local exhibits with high school history, sports and local dignitaries. Since this is farming area, there are large displays of this trade along with the area history including a small village mock up using actual local business artifacts. For the real enthusiasts, there are many hours of browsing to be done.

A short drive away are the towns of French Lick and West Baden. These towns became major tourist attractions based on the sulfur springs that were thought to bring good health to those that drank and bathed in the waters. They prospered from the late 1800’s until the great depression, when they fell on hard times and really did not recover until the late 1990’s. The business that continued unabated was Pluto Water, which bottled the sulfur spring water. I had never heard of it until this visit. There has been a revival in the area with the renovations of the famous hotels and development of casinos and a pro golf course.

The West Baden Hotel was truly amazing and the golf course clearly out of my league. I would guess I would need a bunch of golf balls just to get through the course.