Andrew Jackson is on the twenty dollar bill, he had controversial policies in relation to the Native Americans, and he killed someone in a duel, that is about all I knew about him prior to visiting Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage on our trip to Nashville last summer. All of those things are talked about at the hermitage, but you also get a much deeper look into America’s seventh president in the context of his own home.
The whole experience at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage is very similar to what you experience at Mount Vernon. The organization that runs the hermitage is even modeled on the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. In this post I’ll talk about five things to do while you visit the hermitage.
1: Tour the Mansion
The Mansion is the largest of the restored buildings at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. Visiting the Mansion is included on the general admission ticket and inside you receive a guided tour. You want to make sure you do the Mansion as early in the day as possible since they can only take in groups of 10-12 people at a time and the line can get very long very quickly.
The Mansion is a really beautiful building to visit. Pay particular attention to the wall paper murals in the large rooms. Due to the nature of the old house and its stairways the upper part of the house is not accessible to wheelchairs.
2: Take the Wagon Tour
For an additional cost on the price of your ticket you can take a wagon tour of the estate. You can visit the whole estate on foot, provided you have the time and the walking stamina. We opted to do a wagon tour because some members of our group were not up to a walking tour.
The benefits of the wagon tour are that you don’t have to walk and that it is guided by the wagon driver. Our driver had a great voice for storytelling and knew a lot about the hermitage so it was a great experience.
3: Listen to the Audio Guide
If you have been reading the blog for a while you probably know that I am a big fan of audio tours. I find that they help you to get a lot more out of an experience. At Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage an audio guide is included with your ticket. They use a wand style audio system where you put in the different numbers for the content you want to here.
There are three different audio tours you can do, the regular adult tour, the children’s tour (narrated by a parrot), or a tour based on the experiences of the president’s wife, Rachel Jackson. The audio wand contains all the tours so you can switch between them at any time.
If you bring a pair of wired earbuds with you, then you can plug them into the wand to avoid having to hold it up to your ear the whole time. I find that this allows you to listen to more of the content and observe the exhibits easier.
4: Watch a Duel Demonstration
Several times throughout each day there is a duel demonstration just to the left of the Mansion. The historical interpreters will explain the ins and outs of dueling at Jackson’s time and demonstrate (with some help from the audience).
Attending the dueling demonstration is included with admission and is a fun experience.
5: Watch the Movie
Like most museums and historical sites there is a movie you can watch about the life of Andrew Jackson. It is called, Born for a Storm. It runs 17 minutes and plays every 25 minutes in the museum. The movie is a useful overview of Jackson’s life, but its biggest benefit is to get out of the hot and humid Tennessee weather. We visited in June and movie was a welcome way to cool off.
In addition to the movie there is a small museum with exhibits following the chronology of the life of Andrew Jackson.
Sum Up of Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage
The hermitage is a well cared for and restored historical site. The have a great audio guide and tours to help you learn while you are there, so I think it is well worth the visit while you are in Nashville. It does not take long to get here from Nashville.
Be aware that some activities, like the wagon ride, are only open at certain times of the year.
