Hermitage in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
The Hermitage Landscape
Frontier Farm to Cotton Plantation to Shrine
Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, November 12, 2022
1. The Hermitage Landscape Marker
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The Hermitage Landscape. Frontier Farm to Cotton Plantation to Shrine. At first glance, The Hermitage Landscape may seem largely untouched by time. Look more closely, however, and discover the changes brought by over 200 years of labor...living...and a changing America., White Americans and their slaves first settled this property around 1798, attracted, as were generations of Indians before them, by two natural springs that still provide water today. The Indians farmed and hunted this land for thousands of years. With the coming of white settlers, a rapid transformation began. A richly forested Indian hunting ground became a frontier farm of rough fields and patches of woodland. As the years rolled by, hard labor transformed that early farm into a busy plantation with enslaved workers toiling in Jackson's fields. Cotton was the vital “cash crop” that supported the Jackson's lifestyle, while the farm produced nearly everything needed for a community of almost 200 people. More change followed the Civil War, and continues; some from within, some from the city around us., As you tour today, imagine yourself one of the people of The Hermitage, a Jackson family member, a slave working in the fields or house, the overseer, or a visitor on this large plantation humming with dawn-to-dusk purpose and activity, just a four-hour carriage ride from downtown Nashville. Imagine that it is 1837., (sidebar) , Plantation of Farm? , A plantation is a large farm devoted to growing primarily one crop for profit. In the pre-Civil War United States, enslaved workers performed the grueling labor on plantations. By this definition, The Hermitage was a plantation during Andrew Jackson's life. Jackson, however, nearly always called it a farm.
At first glance, The Hermitage Landscape may seem largely untouched by time. Look more closely, however, and discover the changes brought by over 200 years of labor...living...and a changing America.
White Americans and their slaves first settled this property around 1798—attracted, as were generations of Indians before them, by two natural springs that still provide water today. The Indians farmed and hunted this land for thousands of years. With the coming of white settlers, a rapid transformation began. A richly forested Indian hunting ground became a frontier farm of rough fields and patches of woodland. As the years rolled by, hard labor transformed that early farm into a busy plantation with enslaved workers toiling in Jackson's fields. Cotton was the vital “cash crop” that supported the Jackson's lifestyle, while the farm produced nearly everything needed for a community of almost 200 people. More change followed the Civil War, and continues; some from within, some from the city around us.
As you tour today, imagine yourself one of the people of The Hermitage—a Jackson family member, a slave working in the fields or house, the overseer, or a visitor on this large plantation humming with dawn-to-dusk purpose and activity—just a four-hour carriage ride from downtown Nashville. Imagine
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that it is 1837.
(sidebar) Plantation of Farm?
A plantation is a large farm devoted to growing primarily one crop for profit. In the pre-Civil War United States, enslaved workers performed the grueling labor on plantations. By this definition, The Hermitage was a plantation during Andrew Jackson's life. Jackson, however, nearly always called it a farm.
Location. 36° 12.835′ N, 86° 36.814′ W. Marker is in Hermitage, Tennessee, in Davidson County. Marker can be reached from Rachels Lane, 0.3 miles east of Hermitage Road. Marker located on the path between the Visitors Center and The Hermitage Mansion. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4580 Rachels Lane, Hermitage TN 37076, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Following the Civil War and end of slavery, the changing fortunes of the Jackson family caused the plantation to decline. As shabby or unneeded buildings were demolished, woods reestablished.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
4. The Hermitage Landscape Marker
After 1889, the creation of a public museum and a hospital for invalid Confederate veterans altered the landscape with increased activity. Mechanized equipment replaced some of the human labor on the farm.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 25, 2010
5. The Hermitage Landscape Marker
Archaeologists have found projectile points in nearly every archaeological site at The Hermitage showing that Indian cultures thrived here.
One of Nashville's first airfields, a soldier's home, new highways, a wildlife refuge, the bright lights of nearby businesses, airline flights in and out of Nashville's International Airport—and at least two tornados—have all changed the Hermitage landscape.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, June 14, 2015
6. The Hermitage Landscape Marker
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, June 14, 2015
7. Wide view of The Hermitage Landscape Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 7, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 577 times since then and 8 times this year. Last updated on July 12, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos:1. submitted on January 23, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 7, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 6, 7. submitted on July 12, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.