THE LADIES’ HERMITAGE ASSOCIATION
Mrs. Andrew Jackson, III (Amy Rich), conceived the idea of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association. The organizers were Andrew Jackson, III, Mrs. Mary C. Dorris, Mr. and Mrs. William A. Donelson.
On February 19, 1889, Mrs. Rachel J. Lawrence, Mary W. May, Mrs. Mary Hadly Clare, Mrs. E. L. Nicholson, Miss Louise Grundy Lindsley, Mrs. Henry Heiss, and Mrs. Mary C. Dorris applied to the State of Tennessee and were granted a charter incorporating the Ladies’ Hermitage Association. The objects of the Association stated in the charter were to purchase from the State of Tennessee certain land, including the residence and tomb of Andrew Jackson, and to “beautify, preserve, and adorn the same throughout all coming years, in a manner most befitting the memory of that great man, and commensurate with the gratitude of his countrymen.” The General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, on April 5, 1889, conveyed to Trustees for the Ladies’ Hermitage Association twenty-five acres of the Hermitage farm, including the house, tomb, and surrounding buildings.
Dr. and Mrs. J. Berrien Lindsley rendered very efficient service in securing from the State Legislature the original conveyance of twenty-five acres to the Ladies’ Hermitage Association.
The General Assembly of the State of Tennessee (Chapter No. 27, Public Acts of Tennessee, 1923), at the earnest solicitation of the Officers and Directors of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association, conveyed 232⁵/₁₀ acres of the Hermitage farm, located in the Fourth Civil District of Davidson County, Tennessee, to the Board of Trustees for the Ladies’ Hermitage Association, to the end that said Ladies’ Hermitage Association be permitted and encouraged to preserve and beautify same, so as to display the respect, love, and affection which a grateful State and people cherish for their illustrious hero and statesman, Andrew Jackson.
The General Assembly of the State of Tennessee in 1935, by Public Act, conveyed 500 acres of the original Hermitage farm tract to the Board of Trustees to be maintained under the care and custody of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association. The Hermitage farm is now under the supervision of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association for preservation as a perpetual memorial. In 1960 the Association acquired 125 acres adjoining the north boundary as protection against future industrial or housing developments, bringing the total acreage to 625.
The furniture and relics were in the Hermitage at the time of the organization of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association in 1889, and Col. Andrew Jackson gave the Association an option upon them. But failing to raise the necessary money after four years’ trial, the entire collection of relics and furniture was removed in 1893 by the owner, Col. Andrew Jackson, to Cincinnati, where he had them on exhibition for pay. This venture was not a success, so they were returned to Nashville. From this collection and from various members of the family and others, the Association has bought the relics it now owns, that so beautifully adorn the residence where they first were placed.
The Association in its early years put forth untiring efforts to raise the funds necessary to restore the mansion and collect the original furnishings and relics. It inaugurated various enterprises, such as lectures, concerts, balls, etc.
President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Hermitage, October 22, 1907, and in a speech then promised government aid. He incorporated the matter in his annual message, and as a result and through the efforts of Senator James B. Frazier and Congressman John W. Gaines, both of whom were trustees, Congress made an appropriation of $5,000 to repair and improve the Hermitage. The present sources of revenue are admission fees, souvenir shop sales, and Association membership dues.
The collection of relics and furniture now in the house is the result of years of effort of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association. It is interesting to note, in this connection, that the Hermitage is the only great National Shrine in this country having original furnishings throughout. All furnishings in the house originally belonged to General Jackson, with the exception of a few articles which, in each case, are noted in the catalogue.
In 1961, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior designated the Hermitage as a Registered National Historic Landmark.
For forty-five years following the opening of the Hermitage to the public, Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Baker served as careful and dedicated custodians of the buildings and grounds. They were succeeded by their son, Andrew Jackson Baker, who was born at the Hermitage, and his wife, and it is due to their continued dedication and interest that the Hermitage has maintained its reputation as the nation’s best-kept shrine. Due to ill health, Mr. Baker resigned in 1963.
The present custodian is Steve S. Lawrence.
ANDREW JACKSON CHRONOLOGY
BY W. B. MARR
| 1767 March 5 | Born near the line between South Carolina and North Carolina. |
| 1784 Fall | Began study of law. |
| 1787 May | Admitted to practice law in North Carolina. |
| 1788 August 2 | Duel with Colonel Waightstill Avery at Jonesboro. |
| 1788 Spring | Appointed public prosecutor for territory south of Ohio River. |
| 1791 August | Married Mrs. Rachel Donelson Robards at Natchez, Miss. |
| 1796 January 1 | Member first constitutional convention of Tennessee. |
| 1796 | Elected representative In Congress from Tennessee. |
| 1797 November 2 | Appointed by Governor Sevier Senator from Tennessee, succeeding William Blount, resigned. |
| 1798 June | Resigned from Senate. |
| 1798 | Elected member of the superior court of law and equity. |
| 1801 | Elected major-general of Tennessee militia. |
| 1804 | Moved from Hunter’s Hill to log house, original Hermitage. |
| 1804 July 4 | Resigned from superior court. |
| 1805-6 | Entertained Aaron Burr. |
| 1806 May 30 | Duel with Charles Dickinson. |
| 1809 | Nephew of Mrs. Jackson adopted, named Andrew Jackson, Jr. |
| 1812 June 5 | Offered services of Tennessee Volunteers to the United States Government in the War of 1812. |
| 1813 January 7 | Started for New Orleans with Tennessee Militia. |
| 1813 February 15 | Arrived at Natchez. |
| 1813 March 25 | Started home from Natchez. |
| 1813 April 22 | Returned to Hermitage. |
| 1813 September 4 | Wounded in affray with Thomas H. and Jesse Benton. |
| 1813 October 11 | Started with his command for the Creek War. |
| 1813 November 3 | Battle of Talluschatches, Creek War. |
| 1813 November 9 | Battle of Talladega, Creek War. |
| 1814 January 22 | Battle of Emuckfau, Creek War. |
| 1814 January 24 | Battle of Enotocopco, Creek War. |
| 1814 March 27 | Battle of the Horseshoe, Creek War. |
| 1814 April 19 | Appointed Brigadier-General United States Army. |
| 1814 May 1 | Appointed Major-General United States Army, Vice William Henry Harrison, resigned. |
| 1814 August 10 | Had treaty with Creeks signed. |
| 1814 September 9 | Started first Florida campaign. |
| 1814 December 2 | Arrived at New Orleans for the defense of the city. |
| 1814 December 16 | Declared martial law in New Orleans. |
| 1814 December 23 | First battle in defense of New Orleans. |
| 1815 January 1 | Second battle in defense of New Orleans. |
| 1815 January 8 | Won battle of New Orleans. |
| 1815 March 5 | Caused the arrest of Judge Dominick A. Hall, United States District Judge at New Orleans. |
| 1815 March 13 | Abrogated martial law at New Orleans. |
| 1815 March 24 | Fined $1,000 by Judge Dominick A. Hall for contempt of court, which Jackson paid the same day, and which was refunded by Congress with interest in 1842. |
| 1815 May 15 | Arrived at Nashville from New Orleans. |
| 1817 December 26 | Entered upon second Florida campaign. |
| 1818 April 28 | Caused the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister. |
| 1819 February 8 | House of Representatives in Congress sustained Jackson’s conduct in the Florida campaign. |
| 1819 Jan. and Feb. | Visited eastern cities. |
| 1819 February | Spain ceded Florida to the United States. |
| 1819 | Built Brick Hermitage. |
| 1821 | Appointed by President Monroe governor of Florida. |
| 1821 May 31 | Resigned from the army. |
| 1821 July 17 | Took possession of Florida as governor, and it became a territory of the United States. |
| 1821 October | Resigned as governor of Florida, and returned to Hermitage. |
| 1822 July 20 | Nominated for President by the Legislature of Tennessee. |
| 1823 | Offered and declined mission to Mexico. |
| 1823 October | Elected to the United States Senate from Tennessee. |
| 1823 | Contributed major part of funds for building Presbyterian church in Hermitage neighborhood. |
| 1824 March 4 | Nominated for President by the Pennsylvania convention. |
| 1824 November 4 | Received plurality of electoral votes for President. |
| 1825 February 9 | Defeated for President in the House of Representatives in Congress by John Quincy Adams, who received the vote of thirteen states, Jackson seven, William H. Crawford of Georgia four. |
| 1825 | Lafayette visited the Hermitage. |
| 1825 October | Resigned from the United States Senate. |
| 1825 October | Renominated for President by the Legislature of Tennessee. |
| 1826 or 1827 | Communion Sunday, date uncertain, promised Mrs. Jackson to join the church when out of politics. |
| 1828 November | Elected President of the United States. |
| 1828 December 22 | Death of Mrs. Jackson. |
| 1829 January 17 | Left Hermitage for his inauguration. |
| 1829 March 4 | Inaugurated President. |
| 1830 April 13 | Offered toast: “Our federal union, it must be preserved,” at Jefferson’s birthday dinner. |
| 1830 December 7 | Recommended that the Southern Indians be removed to the Indian Territory. |
| 1831 | Two wings added to the Hermitage. |
| 1832 July 10 | Vetoed bill re-chartering the Bank of the United States. |
| 1832 November | Re-elected President of the United States. |
| 1832 December 10 | Issued proclamation to nullifiers of South Carolina. |
| 1833 June 26 | Harvard College conferred the degree of LL.D. |
| 1833 September 23 | Ordered withdrawal of deposits from the Bank of the United States. |
| 1834 | Hermitage damaged by fire; repaired. No changes since. |
| 1834 March 28 | Censured by Senate by resolution for removing public deposits from the Bank of the United States. |
| 1835 December 29 | Treaty with the Cherokee Indians for their removal to Indian Territory. |
| 1835 January 8 | Proclaimed the payment in full of national debt of the United States. |
| 1837 January 16 | Resolution passed in the Senate expunging the resolution of censure of 1834. |
| 1837 March 4 | Issued farewell address to people of the United States. |
| 1839 | Became a member of the Presbyterian Church near the Hermitage. |
| 1840 January 18 | Visited New Orleans. |
| 1845 June 8 | Sunday, at 6 P.M., died. |
| 1845 June 10 | Buried by the side of Mrs. Jackson at the Hermitage. |
The Carriage House
The skeleton of the phaeton is all that is left of the beautiful vehicle presented to General Jackson by the “Democratic-Republican” citizens of Philadelphia. It was made from timbers taken from the old ship Constitution. The phaeton in which General Jackson rode with Martin Van Buren to the latter’s inauguration was damaged by fire in Cincinnati, where the Jackson relics were stored before being acquired by the Ladies’ Hermitage Association. (Photograph is on wall.)
Stone doorstep in front of carriage house was presented to Col. W. W. Parks by General Jackson. Given to the Ladies’ Hermitage Association by his granddaughters, Misses Annie and Grace Handly.
Display boards on the walls show photostats of the Library of Congress letters of Rachel Jackson, personal accounts of life at the Hermitage taken from letters and histories, and pamphlets relating to the life and times of President Andrew Jackson, presented to the Hermitage by C. Lawrence Winn, great-grandson of Andrew Jackson, Jr.
Anvil, used in shoeing General Jackson’s race horses.
Carpenter’s plane, said to have been used by William McCreary in building the Hermitage. Given by Stanley F. Horn.