Nashville offers many historic places and monuments. One popular tourist destination in Nashville is The Hermitage, home of former President Andrew Jackson. Its antebellum grounds provide visitors with an insight into slave life while also exploring his legacy as President.
Travelers Rest Plantation, established in 1799, offers another historic site of note. This simple house museum provides visitors with an interesting insight into plantation life.
The Hermitage
Nashville is known as the birthplace of country music, boasting its heritage from both World Wars as well as Civil War-era American history. If that interests you, Nashville offers numerous historical spots worth seeing. Take a tour through The Hermitage where the 7th President lived – you’ll witness impressive architecture alongside lush gardens.
Discover Andrew Jackson, once revered as an orator and leader for a new America. Follow his journey from orphan to commander-in-chief during the War of 1812 while experiencing Hismitage’s museum, slave cabins and Mansion Tour; add audio tours or wagon rides for further exploration of this plantation.
Belle Meade Historic Site
Belle Meade Winery and Historic Site in Belle Meade is well known for its prized thoroughbred horses. Now part of a tour which explores their lives of former slaves under The Journey to Jubilee project, its stables and slave quarters offer visitors a peek into how former slaves lived during slavery in Belle Meade’s stables and slave quarters.
Belle Meade was once home to John Harding and his family, members of the local gentry. Today its reconstructed slave cabin showcases artifacts from its era – such as chains to remind visitors about enslavement – so as to give an accurate portrayal.
Today, this 30-acre historic site and winery epitomizes Southern hospitality. With indoor and outdoor spaces that can host up to 200 guests simultaneously, various tours are offered that highlight various topics or aspects of plantation life such as holidays or festivities.
The Belcourt Theatre
The Belcourt Theatre, established in 1925, is a non-profit film center that has provided independent, documentary, world cinema and repertory films to audiences of all ages since. Additionally, classic 35mm movies can also be found here.
Behind her large dark-framed glasses you can watch Inman working tirelessly to bring film consumers and kids together and advance film literacy. She forges partnerships with nonprofits that provide underprivileged youth services in order to offer visual literacy programs and arming them with tools necessary for understanding visual media consumption.
Travelers Rest Plantation is a classic 1799 Federal style home restored to its former glory that provides visitors with an insight into American history through Judge John Overton, a banker, Supreme Court justice, and adviser of Andrew Jackson. Additionally, there is also an accompanying museum.
Downtown Presbyterian Church
Downtown Presbyterian Church stands as an impressive National Historic Landmark and stunning example of Egyptian Revival architecture in Nashville. Designed by William Strickland – who also designed Tennessee State Capitol – construction began on this church in 1849 and finished four years later in 1851.
During the Civil War, this church was commandeered by Union soldiers for use as a hospital; upon its return to its congregation afterwards.
Churches have always been at the center of social activism throughout their histories, serving as shelters for flood victims during the 1920s and providing sleep space to soldiers on leave during World War II.
The State Capitol
Nashville’s State Capitol stands as one of the oldest working capitols in America and is a National Historic Landmark designed by William Strickland in 1859. Tours allow visitors to take a peek inside this exquisite limestone structure while strolling the grounds which include President James Polk and Sarah Polk’s gravesites.
Nashville is often known as Music City, so it should come as no surprise that its famous Music Row district is filled with businesses and sites related to country music history. Yet Nashville offers much more for those interested in exploring Tennessee’s rich heritage outside the country music world – antebellum homes, museums and Civil War battlefields are just waiting to be discovered with short road trips from downtown.
