Chapter I: Front Matter

THE HERMITAGE
_Home of Old Hickory_

By
STANLEY F. HORN

_New York_
GREENBERG : PUBLISHER

Copyright, 1950, by Stanley F. Horn
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

TO
MY WIFE
WITHOUT WHOSE INTEREST AND ENCOURAGEMENT THIS BOOK WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN
WRITTEN

CONTENTS

PAGE
I. The Pre-Hermitage Period 1
II. Original Building, Fire and Rebuilding 19
III. Rescue and Restoration 37
IV. Description of the House 58
V. The Garden and Grounds 73
VI. The Hermitage Household 97
VII. Guests at the Hermitage 137
VIII. The Tennessee Farmer 158
IX. Church and Religion, and Final Days 187

Appendices:
A: Chronology 207
B: Andrew Jackson's Will 209
C: His Goings and Comings 213
D: Governing Boards 220
Index 223

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
Front View of the Hermitage, _Frontispiece_
Original Log House 2
The First Hermitage 3
Imaginary Picture of the Hermitage 10
The Hermitage in 1831 10
Plat of the Hermitage Plantation 11
Old Print Showing the Young Cedar Trees 11
Front View of the House 18
Close-up View of the Façade 19
The Front Door 26
Rear View of the House 26
General Jackson Greeting Lafayette 27
Original Slave Cabin 27
Uncle Alfred 34
Sunday Morning at the Hermitage Church 35
The Hermitage Church 42
Interior of the Old Hermitage Church 42
Epitaph on Mrs. Jackson's Tomb 43
The Tomb of General and Mrs. Jackson 43
Earl's Portrait of General Jackson 50
The Old Family Carriage 51
Passage from the Kitchen 58
The Hermitage Well 58
Front Gate and Entrance Driveway 59
The Garden 59
One of the Garden Walks 66
View of the Garden from the House 67
General Jackson's Desk 82
General Jackson's Office 83
General Jackson's Bedroom 98
Entrance Hall 99
The Stairway 114
Guest Room 115
The Back Parlor 130
The Dining Room 131
The Front Parlor 146
Upstairs Hall 147
Old Kitchen 162
Original Silverware 163
General Jackson's Liquor Chest 176
Advertisement of _Truxton_ 177

DRAWINGS

First Floor Plan 170a
Second Floor Plan 184a
Front Elevation, _Front end sheet_
Rear Elevation, _Back end sheet_

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

_The preservation of the Hermitage as one of America's most cherished historic shrines is due to the vision and patriotic enthusiasm of the women composing the Ladies' Hermitage Association, to whom all possible credit should be given for the work they have done._

_Acknowledgment is made to the association for their permission to use the photographs of the interior of the Hermitage, to which they have the exclusive right. Other photographs are used by permission of Marvin Wiles, photographer, of Nashville, to whom the copyright belongs. The architectural drawings were furnished by the Library of Congress, Washington, having been prepared by the Historic American Buildings Survey._

The Author.

THE HERMITAGE: HOME OF OLD HICKORY