Day Forty-Four
This was an interesting morning. My first task was to decide whether to stay another night at this KOA campground. The decision was partly contingent on whether they could get my wifi working so I called the office to see if they could accommodate me for another night and to report endless issues with their wifi.
They shuffled some reservations around and said I could stay Thursday night but I would have to move to another site in the park. One of their crew came by to escort me to the new site and help with the wifi. I have had wonderful success using an external antenna and wifi booster but we discovered that if I unplugged my WifiCampPro 2 antenna I could get on their park wifi. He admitted that their wifi was a little slow but if I could be patient it would work just fine.
I asked him for recommendations on interesting local attractions and he immediately told me to go to Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. After hearing a bit about it I decided to give it a go. Andrew Jackson was the 7th President of the United States and had a splendid home just a few miles northeast of Nashville that he named The Hermitage
This was an active cotton plantation with over 100 African slaves. Here is an ecserp from Wikipedia on the man.
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of Congress. As president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the "common man"[1] against a "corrupt aristocracy"[2] and to preserve the Union.
This place is very large and impressive by today's standards. I can only imagine how this mansion would have been viewed back in the day.
The tour admission included one of those handheld devices that explains what you're looking at as you make your way along the tour. The inside of the house was facinating being able to glimpse the past through an actual tour of the original home including all his original furnishings.
Here is a photo off the back entrance to the home. The yard in the foreground was a busy place with lots of the slaves involved in one task or other. They could be hanging clothes out to dry, they could be sewing or knitting in the corner or they could be slaughtering pigs for their meat. They would go through 300 pigs a year as it was their primary meat source to feed the family and all their slaves.
After butchering the meat would sit in hollowed out logs filled with salt and spices in the "smoke room" for several weeks. Then it would be smoked for a few days as it was hung up to dry.
Meals were cooked in a small building separated from the main house to keep the heat from the oven getting into the house and also to keep out the smells associated with cooking.
From here it went into another area where the food was plated and spices were added.
From here the food was served in the dining room. Remember, all of the furniture you see has been preserved along with the house.
Andrew Jackson was a gentle man but could also be very violent if he was being attacked. He was famous for defeating the British Army at the Battle of New Orleans. This was a decisive battle because the British left the country and never returned.
I wanted to see some of the slave quarters which are certainly modest structures but are sturdy well made log homes. This entire state is covered with thick pine forest so wood was plentiful and cheap. I also think they probably didn't look quite as cozy as they do now.
Before the big house was constructed Andrew and his wife lived in these two buildings.
It was well worth the time spent learning about a great American President. Andrew Jackson, nicknamed "Old Hickory", was a man that came from poor beginnings to become President of the United States. Well done dude.
I was feeling kind of tired after hours of standing and walking but I knew I was out of here in the morning and wanted to at least get in a shot of the Grand Ole Opry.
Tomorrow is Friday and I haven't yet decided where I'm going when I leave here in the morning.
If anyone is reading this and has a suggestion for me, just leave it in the comments at the bottom and then click publish and I will see your note. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.
They shuffled some reservations around and said I could stay Thursday night but I would have to move to another site in the park. One of their crew came by to escort me to the new site and help with the wifi. I have had wonderful success using an external antenna and wifi booster but we discovered that if I unplugged my WifiCampPro 2 antenna I could get on their park wifi. He admitted that their wifi was a little slow but if I could be patient it would work just fine.
I asked him for recommendations on interesting local attractions and he immediately told me to go to Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. After hearing a bit about it I decided to give it a go. Andrew Jackson was the 7th President of the United States and had a splendid home just a few miles northeast of Nashville that he named The Hermitage
This was an active cotton plantation with over 100 African slaves. Here is an ecserp from Wikipedia on the man.
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of Congress. As president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the "common man"[1] against a "corrupt aristocracy"[2] and to preserve the Union.
This place is very large and impressive by today's standards. I can only imagine how this mansion would have been viewed back in the day.
The tour admission included one of those handheld devices that explains what you're looking at as you make your way along the tour. The inside of the house was facinating being able to glimpse the past through an actual tour of the original home including all his original furnishings.
Here is a photo off the back entrance to the home. The yard in the foreground was a busy place with lots of the slaves involved in one task or other. They could be hanging clothes out to dry, they could be sewing or knitting in the corner or they could be slaughtering pigs for their meat. They would go through 300 pigs a year as it was their primary meat source to feed the family and all their slaves.
After butchering the meat would sit in hollowed out logs filled with salt and spices in the "smoke room" for several weeks. Then it would be smoked for a few days as it was hung up to dry.
Meals were cooked in a small building separated from the main house to keep the heat from the oven getting into the house and also to keep out the smells associated with cooking.
From here it went into another area where the food was plated and spices were added.
From here the food was served in the dining room. Remember, all of the furniture you see has been preserved along with the house.
Andrew Jackson was a gentle man but could also be very violent if he was being attacked. He was famous for defeating the British Army at the Battle of New Orleans. This was a decisive battle because the British left the country and never returned.
I wanted to see some of the slave quarters which are certainly modest structures but are sturdy well made log homes. This entire state is covered with thick pine forest so wood was plentiful and cheap. I also think they probably didn't look quite as cozy as they do now.
Before the big house was constructed Andrew and his wife lived in these two buildings.
It was well worth the time spent learning about a great American President. Andrew Jackson, nicknamed "Old Hickory", was a man that came from poor beginnings to become President of the United States. Well done dude.
I was feeling kind of tired after hours of standing and walking but I knew I was out of here in the morning and wanted to at least get in a shot of the Grand Ole Opry.
Tomorrow is Friday and I haven't yet decided where I'm going when I leave here in the morning.
If anyone is reading this and has a suggestion for me, just leave it in the comments at the bottom and then click publish and I will see your note. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.
Steam engine show in Republic, Mo...Fri, Sat, Sun
ReplyDeleteGeorge, thanks but I'm too far east for that.
ReplyDelete