The Hermitage

While in Nashville, we took the opportunity to visit The Hermitage, a former cotton plantation and now historical museum, once owned by Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States. We started off watching a film about Andrew Jackson, followed by a guided tour through the beautifully restored Ante-bellum mansion that was his home, and a lengthy stroll on the manicured grounds. Initially Jackson operated his cotton farm with nine enslaved African Americans, but this number gradually grew to 44 by 1820. Jackson rapidly converted the farm into a prosperous 1,000-acre plantation and supervised the construction of many outbuildings, including a distillery, dairy, carriage shelter, cotton gin and press, and slave cabins. At the peak of operation, Jackson had more than 100 enslaved men, women, and children working in the fields. Additional enslaved families provided for the domestic necessities of the Jackson Family, such as cooking, cleaning, gardening, driving, and a multitude of other daily tasks. Although The Hermitage doesn't try to hide these realities, it is none-the-less hard for me to accept that slave labor, owning slaves, was a common occurrence during these times. Pictures weren't allowed inside the mansion, but we were able to take as many as we wanted outside, on the grounds, and of the former slaves quarters.