The Original Hermitage
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:Taylor Speer-Sims
HIST84804 Readings in American History:
Historic Preservation
University of Nebraska - Kearney
Master's in History Program:
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(I have to be honest here. I did my best, but still didn't have a clue what I was doing. While it is not great, there are some great facts about the Original Hermitage that I do not think aren't anywhere else. So, if you are interested in Andrew Jackson, you will still get some good info if you look past the bad points.)
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July 12, 2013
Contents
Introduction
2.
Data Sheet
Information 3.
Description of
Appearance 5.
Statement of
Significance 8.
Conclusion
13.
Bibliography 15.
Appendix 17.
Introduction
President
Andrew Jackson had many homes, even in Tennessee. The one celebrated currently
is the museum mansion, The Hermitage. Many people visit this home for different
reasons. Unfortunately many of these guests do not walk the rest of the
property, but are only there for the mansion.[1]
What they miss, if they do not continue on, is The Original Hermitage. This
one-story log cabin is not as exciting as the big house, unless you know about
its history. This unassuming structure should be listed on the National
Register of Historic properties separately from the mansion, and this paper
reflects that argument.
The
property currently is in the middle of the plantation property of The Hermitage.
The Original Hermitage and one other building, which was the kitchen are the
only that remain from the original settlement compound. There were definitely
three original buildings, and another possible one that has not been confirmed.
What can currently be seen is a little more one-half of the original eighteenth
century home. While it is smack dab in the center of the current farm, the
initial buildings, surrounding archaeological site, and the other possible
location, should be considered to include one-half an acre for preservation
purposes.
The
following includes the basic information needed for the application for
nomination. There is the address, which includes the county and state. There is
also information about the house itself, but does not include information about
the kitchen, the foundation that was archaeologically proven to have been
another slave house in the vicinity. It also does not include information on
the location that may have been another building. While there are references to
them, they are only there to support the qualifications to The Original
Hermitage’s application.
Information
is also given on what the log cabin currently looks like, along with basic data
on what is the proposed formation of the original house. There are background
facts on the date of original purchase and the date of purchase by the
Jacksons. The “Data Information Sheet” report is given as a chapter for easy
reading. The Significance of the building makes up the majority of the paper.
All photographs are within the appendix, many of which were used as primary
source reference from this author’s original visit.
History
of the house includes Hayes, the Jackson, and the slaves that lived afterward.
Significances include not only the fact that a President of the United States
lived there, but also other notable local, regional and national legends. It is
significant because of Native American movements, wars, and social structure.
The Original Hermitage has significance for causations as well as African Americans.
It is a very significant home for many time periods. Building construction
methods and materials, as well as artifact evidence also makes this building
significant. It is also important to the state of North Carolina for the same
reasons. This building definitely has many points of interest.
Data Sheet Information
The
Original Hermitage currently has one other contributing building, a site where
another building once stood, and another possible duplex of the same nature.
This early Hermitage is late eighteenth century. It has significance for the
following: agriculture, architecture, conservation, education, Native
Americans, and military. This was the home of President Andrew Jackson and his
wife Rachel during the War of 1812. It was a very early building in the area.
It was noted as having expensive furnishings due to many notable visitors.[5]
After the big house was built, it became slave quarters for men and women.
These people lived in a home that was not attached compartments, as other local
slave houses were. The locally famous Uncle Alfred was born in the building
adjacent.[6]
The restoration of the building was seen as necessary immediately after the
Ladies Hermitage Association bought it in 1889.[7]
It is within the second location in the nation designated for restoration, and
therefore first in the state of Tennessee.[8]
The Original Hermitage has its own significance that is separate from the
mansion.
Description
of Appearance
When walking up to
this home from the mansion, the back of the home is seen. It is a log cabin
whose roof is about one and half stories tall, compared with its one story
living space. The house is sitting on stones, and there are two windows placed
in equal distance with only one shutter per window. One other side of the house
is visible from this view. It is the side with the fireplace. Measurements for
the entire home are only twenty-four feet by Twenty-six feet, having layers of
six squared off logs on each side.[10]
Moving
counter-clockwise from where we began, another wall with two windows and their
shutters are seen. Here, though, the high peek is visible and is the attic
space. Measurement of height cannot be within the attic due to restrictions of
the site. When moving close to the building, the chinking of the wood is
visible. The original beams are in the same spot from when the original owner
placed them there. The mortar is more modern due to renovation in the late
nineteenth century.
Moving once again,
the view is now the front of the log house. The front of the home has one door
with two stone steps. The doorway is about five and a half feet high. Almost
everyone must duck to enter! There is a shelf in the front of the building.
This shelf is thought to be more modern due to the quality of the beam, and the
records do not indicate this at all. Windows were replaced by the front door
when it was moved from the top floor to the only floor.[11]
Also, here is where the nine rows of shake shingles can be viewed with
distinction. Measurements of these shingles could not be taken due to museum
rules for ladders.
The last side of
this small farmhouse is the most interesting. The six layers of logs make a
distinct change to clapping. The stones that the house is sitting on are more
noticeable on this side as well. The house looks like it is just temporary due
the small number of foundation stones. It appears as if there are only four per
side, and the interior stones are not visible. However, what is visible is the bottom
part of the chimney, which is of the same stones as the foundation stones. Only
four layers of stone exist before the bricking takes over! The other full
building of the original farmstead that is still erected has a full stone
chimney. Could this mean that the original chimney of the two-story Original
Hermitage was full stone? It cannot be determined at this point due to lack of
information, but it can be presumed. Another point that is known is that even
though the house is currently sitting on groomed grass, it originally had a
dirt yard that was continuously swept clean.[12]
Walking into the
now vacant home through the front door, the visitors feels that they are in an
adequate size room with a very large fireplace. This room is twenty-six feet by
twelve feet. When it was on the top floor, it was Rachel and Andrew’s bedroom.[13]
It was presumably the main living room of the slaves that lived there after the
conversion. Currently, placards about Andrew Jackson cover almost every inch of
wall space in this room. There are two rooms equal in size in the remainder of
the square. These rooms could not be measured due to the rules of no entry. The
room to the left was their adopted son’s room, and the room to the right had
the stair to the attic.[14]
It is assumed that these were sleeping rooms for the slaves, including the
attic space.
The floor still
has the original planking. They are of similar width, but not exact. The
lengths vary completely. There is an area cut out in a square in the large
room. This was the trap door that led to the root cellar. This was not the
ground floor originally, and would not have been the entrance to the cellar
when the Jacksons lived there, so it was more than likely cut out when the
floor was lowered, or it could have been the stairs from the ground floor to
upstairs originally.
When the Jacksons
were the principle residents of this house, the walls were papered with
decorative wallpaper from France. However, currently the walls are planks just
like the flooring and are presently white washed. The French paper was removed
when the slaves moved in. One area of the wall has been opened up to show how
the walls were nailed together. Smaller planks have been laid in at an angle
where a plank was removed to keep the wall steady, but it is done this way to
show the type of nails that were used in construction. These nails still
indicate their being hand hewn. They are different lengths, widths, sizes and
shape. These are interesting in and of themselves.
There is a very
large fireplace on the left side of the wall. The mantel is made of plain
planking. The hearth and surround is made of stone. It is about four feet high
and five feet wide. It is more than probable that this fireplace is original to
the eighteenth century creation.
Statement
of Significance
The state of
Tennessee began with being the western area of North Carolina. All laws and
most of the settlers had their beginnings from that state. Slave laws were
definitely North Carolina in origin.[15]
The birth place of Andrew Jackson is contradictory. However, Uncle Alfred
reported to all visitors that the President was born in South Carolina.[16]
Jackson did not
build this farmhouse when he arrived from his home state. In fact, he did not
build this cabin at all. Nathaniel Hays built the farmstead around 1783. This
is significant since it was built during native wars against settlers in Middle
Tennessee. It is also significant in that it remains the oldest home in
Hermitage and one of the oldest surviving buildings in Middle Tennessee.[17]
Another point of
significance is the construction techniques of early eighteenth century. The
hewn wood still exhibits the original cut marks and irregularities after two
centuries. Hand made nails remain possibly the oldest in use in Tennessee, west
of the Appalachians, due to the date of manufacture. It was also a residence
when Tennessee was ratified as the sixteenth state. While there were natives in
the area, there is no documentation that there were any that lived on the land.
However, Hays originally settled the parcel in 1780 and removed himself east
due to Indian attacks.[18]
So, it is also significant for Native Americans due to their constant threats
to the settlers, along with social movement that were directly due to those
threats.
Another point of
significance is the social attitudes to slavery and living in what was then the
wilderness. The two-story house was built next to at least two other buildings,
and more than likely another as well. One was the kitchen the other was
strictly for slave residency. Probably the construction of three buildings
close together reflects the threat of Indian attacks. It also shows that even
this early, slaves lived separately from their owners. There are only two
buildings that remain intact from those early days (The Original Hermitage is
only partially what it was at that time), but there is one other full outline
of a slave duplex. There are two squares of stone in another location that may
indicate the possibility of an additional duplex.[19]
Nationally this
house is significant in that it was the original home of the Jacksons that held
the title of Hermitage. Jackson purchased the property from Hays in
1804. Before the future President and his wife moved in, French wallpaper was
added, along with the trim being freshly painted making it more sophisticated
than it previously was. This may not have been the earliest home that had
French wallpaper on its walls. However, it is significant that it was laid in a
log cabin in the wilderness. Jackson then hired men to build fences as they
cleared forests for fields of cotton.[20]
It is also significant in that only two families ever owned the property.
Nathanial Hays purchased it April 17, 1786 from the State of North Carolina,
sold to Andrew Jackson on August 23, 1804. It stayed in the family until it was
sold to the Ladies’ Hermitage Association in 1856. It is also significant in
that the deeds had a hickory tree listed as a marker, and Jackson’s nickname
became “Old Hickory”.[21]
This nickname may possibly have been due to these trees being significant on
the farm. It was more probable that it was due to his comparison to the tree
itself by his troops later on.
Jackson was an
avid entertainer, even when The Original Hermitage was his domicile. Another
significance is that Jefferson Davis, later the President of the Confederate
States, visited and stayed with the Jacksons when he was a young man.
When we reached Nashville we went to the Hermitage..
The whole party was so kindly received that we remained several weeks. During
that period I had the opportunity a boy has to observe a great man – a
standpoint of no small advantage – and I have always remembered with warm
affection the kind and tender wife who then presided over his house.[22]
Therefore, the building is
significant for the Civil War even though it really had played no part in the
conflict. It is more significant in that this was the home of General Jackson,
the great leader of the War of 1812. The great man who led troops in combat
against enemy forces and won the Battle of New Orleans. He was the leader of
forces that conquered Florida for the United States, against President Monroe’s
orders. He was both military hero and a traitor that became a hero. He
was then appointed governor of Florida. Then, Jackson assumed the role of
Senator for the State of Tennessee.[23]
All this time, The Original Hermitage had been his home.
With the home and 1,000 acres, Jackson’s star was on
the rise. Just like Webster said, “Power naturally and necessarily follows
property.”[24] Therefore,
Jackson used his slaves to start building on the big house that was finished in
1821. This was not the end of the old house. It now had a new life. The bottom
floor was removed and the top floor, along with the attic, was converted into
slave quarters. The significance here is that this may have been the first home
in Middle Tennessee to have the bottom floor removed keeping the top floor
intact. In the least, it is probably the oldest remaining to have this done.
Jackson owned twenty-two slaves by this time.[25]
One of those was the son of the cook, later to be known as Uncle Alfred. Alfred
was born in the kitchen building within the compound, and worked consistently
in The Original Hermitage as a house slave. He also worked in almost any
position that the General needed. Uncle Alfred was a significant local
individual because he was the personal slave of the President, he was the first
curator/tour guide of the mansion, and he had a huge personality.
Alfred may never have lived in The Original
Hermitage house, but other slaves did. The slaves took occupancy of The
Original Hermitage only after the mansion was completed. It is generally
thought that twelve people lived and shared the house at the same time. A
possible resident was Gracy, who was purchased
January 29, 1823 from William Hobb for one hundred dollars.[26]
She was a trade slave, and since this now became homes for the trade class, it
certainly is possible. House slaves had new quarters near the new mansion, and
Uncle Alfred had his own building. This is most probably the only house in
America lived in by a President of the United States, and then to have become a
slave cabin. Also, it was halfway between the house slaves homes and the field
slave quarters, about three hundred yards both ways making these people
physically understand their place in the plantation’s society. This house is
unusual because it, and the others in the original compound were not in an
attached row, which was how other slave quarters of the time were. At the
height of the plantation, President Andrew Jackson owned 150 slaves, when other
locals owned only three or four at a time. This is significant in showing the
wealth of the owner of the plantation against the wealth of others in Middle
Tennessee.
After the Civil War many of the people that had
previously been enslaved left the property. Others stayed on, which was also
common. It is thought that freedmen did not live in The Original Hermitage “was
so derelict upon purchase that it was literally falling down. When the Ladies’
Hermitage Association took possession of the Hermitage it found the property in
a state of extreme dilapidation.”[27]
It was revived before the restoration of the mansion was completed. Therefore,
it could be technically the second home in the nation to have been restored.
This, in itself, is very significant to the nation.
The Original Hermitage had an archaeological dig
that exhumed many artifacts from when the Jacksons lived there. There were also
significant finds of artifacts that could be attested to slaves as well. Silver
and expensive china were found. There were many pieces of Cantonware that were
dug up that dated from the time of Jackson’s Presidency.[28]
This may indicate that these plates were borrowed from the big house by the
slaves. Other items that were found were a brass shoe buckle and a brass watch
fob, doorknobs, a Jew Harp and a pinwheel. The pinwheel was found in the
kitchen.[29] This could
have belonged to Uncle Alfred! There have been very little of eighteenth
century artifacts found in Middle Tennessee. So, these would be very
significant to the site, to the community and also to the region.
Another significance based upon archaeological
information includes illumination of the diets of the slaves at The Original
Hermitage. Indeed, this gives information for many of the other slaves within
the Hermitage Estate itself. The digs found that their diets were based highly
on “pork and corn meal… they had a little bit of beef and a little bit of
mutton.”[30] This
evidence is significant because it shows what the majority of inhabitants of
Hermitage and the rest of Middle Tennessee ate. Remember, that Jackson owned
more slaves than most other people in Middle Tennessee, and the majority of
inhabitants in Hermitage, Tennessee at that time were slaves.
Conclusion
The Original Hermitage is a house of great
importance. The president Andrew Jackson lived there when Tennessee was still
the wilderness of North Carolina. Nathaniel Hays built it in the eighteenth
century after his return to the area. He purchased the land from North Carolina
and sold it to Jackson, still before Tennessee was a state. While it was not
the Jackson’s first house, it was the first house they called the Hermitage.
Jackson lived there as a general in the war of 1812.
He lived there when he won the battle of New Orleans. This was his home when he
invaded Florida to save it from Spain. He was governor of Florida, but The
Original Hermitage was still his home at that time. It was also his home when
he was a Senator for Tennessee. It lived up to its name given by him; his home,
his hermitage away from it all. It was a small farm with a lot of acreage that
turned into a large plantation. This was the actual place where Jackson made
history. He bounded from one ambitious glory to another, eventually to become
the President. Jackson did not live in the mansion when he was on the rise, but
in the humble two-story log cabin.
Two and a half stories originally, Jackson removed
the first floor turning his home into slave quarters. It is not certain what
happened to the first floor. However, even with the floor removed, it was still
lived in as a home to Jackson’s slaves. The location most probably was the home
of the slaves in trade, but there is no documentation for confirmation.
However, the three rooms that remained housed approximately twelve people at
the same time, making it quite cramped. Due to the dilapidation at the time of
purchase by the Ladies’ Hermitage Association, it is assumed that no freedman
lived there after the war. This was the first building renovated on the estate,
making it possibly the second house in the nation to be restored.
Significances include those for local, regional,
State of Tennessee, State of North Carolina, as well as national importance.
The Original Hermitage has significance for societal reasons, such as settlers
and slaves. There is significance for Native Americans, causations, and African
Americans. Others include archaeological finds and construction materials.
Influential residents and visitors were people that were locally, regionally,
and nationally important. The most obvious person was the second owner,
President Andrew Jackson. The Original Hermitage is representatively
significant alone, and should be recognized and registered separately from the
mansion.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Davis,
Jefferson. Autobiography of Jefferson Davis. 1890 Kindle Edition n.d.
Dores,
Mary. Preservation of The Hermitage 1889-1915: Annals, History, and Stories.
Nashville: Ladies’ hermitage Association, 1933.
----
“Uncle Alfred Jackson” Personal account of conversation with Uncle Alfred,
n.d. The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson
Collection, Hermitage, Tennessee.
“Farm Ledger List”. 1821. The
Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson Collection,
Hermitage, Tennessee.
Jackson, Andrew. Letter to Mr. Steel.
N.d. The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew
Jackson Collection,
Hermitage, Tennessee.
----
Personal check written to William Hobb, January 29, 1823. The Hermitage: Home
of
President Andrew Jackson Collection, Hermitage,
Tennessee.
McKee,
Larry. quoted in David R. Logsdon, “Volunteers unearth relics of Slavery at
Hermitage”, The Tennesseean. (1995)
Webster,
Daniel. quoted in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. The Age of Jackson. Boston:
Little,
Brown and Co., 1953,
Secondary Sources
Artifact
description. N.d. at The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson, The
Original Hermitage.
Caldwell,
Mary French. Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage: The Story of a Home in the
Tennessee
Blue-Grass Region, Which, from Pioneer Log
Cabin to Ante-bellum Mansion, Furnished the Background of ‘Old Hickory’s’
Dramatic and Colorful Career. Nashville: Ladies’ hermitage Association, 1933
“Farmhouse
Kitchen, The: 1806-1821,” Placard at The Hermitage: Home of President
Andrew Jackson. N.D.
“First
Hermitage Model” Placard at The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson.
N.D.
Hermitage, The: Home of President Andrew Jackson. N.d.
http://www.thehermitage.com/
(accessed July 11, 2013).
Hurley,
Andrew. Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2010.
“Original Hermitage, The” Placard at The Hermitage: Home
of President Andrew Jackson.
N.D.
Speer-Sims, Taylor “Site Review Number Two,” Paper for
class. Kearney: University of
Nebraska – Kearney, March 31, 2013.
----
“Museum Review”, Paper for class Kearney: University of Nebraska – Kearney,
June
23, 2013.
[1] Taylor
Speer-Sims, “Site Review Number Two,” Paper for class. (Kearney: University of
Nebraska – Kearney, March 31, 2013.)
[2] Ashley
Bouknight, personal communication with author, June, 2013.
[3] The
Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson. N.d.
http://www.thehermitage.com/ (accessed July 11, 2013).
[4] Bouknight.
[5] Uncle
Alfred, quoted in Preservation of The Hermitage 1889-1915: Annals, History,
and Stories. (Nashville: Ladies’ hermitage Association, 1933), 117.
[6] “The
Farmhouse Kitchen, 1806-1821,” Placard at The Hermitage: Home of President
Andrew Jackson. N.D.
[7] “The
Original Hermitage,” Placard at The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew
Jackson. N.D.
[8] Andrew
Hurley, Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities.
( Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2010), 3.
[9] Ibid.
[10] “First
Hermitage Model” Placard at The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson.
N.D.
[11] Bouknight.
[12] “The
Original Hermitage,” Placard.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Andrew
Jackson, N.d. Letter to Mr. Steel. The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew
Jackson Collection, Hermitage, Tennessee.
[16] Mary Dores,
“Uncle Alfred Jackson” Personal account of conversation with Uncle Alfred, n.d.
The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson Collection, Hermitage,
Tennessee.
[17] The
Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Taylor
Speer-Sims, “Museum Review”, Paper for class (Kearney: University of Nebraska –
Kearney, June 23, 2013.)
[20] The
Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson.
[21] Mary French
Caldwell, Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage: The Story of a Home in the Tennessee
Blue-Grass Region, Which, from Pioneer Log Cabin to Ante-bellum Mansion,
Furnished the Background of ‘Old Hickory’s’ Dramatic and Colorful Career.
(Nashville: Ladies’ hermitage Association, 1933), 1- 5.
[22] Jefferson
Davis, Autobiography of Jefferson Davis. (1890) Kindle Edition (n.d.)
location 4598.
[23] The
Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson.
[24] Daniel
Webster, quoted in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. The Age of Jackson.
(Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1953), 12.
[25] “Farm
Ledger List”, (1821). The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson Collection,
Hermitage, Tennessee.
[26] Andrew
Jackson, Personal check written to William Hobb, January 29, 1823. The
Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson Collection, Hermitage, Tennessee.
[27] Dores,
Mary. Preservation of The Hermitage..,, 55.
[28] Artifact
description. N.d. The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson, The Original
Hermitage.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Larry
McKee, quoted in David R. Logsdon, “Volunteers unearth relics of Slavery at
Hermitage”, The Tennesseean. (1995)
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