April 25

April 25

This was our last day in this north east corner of TN. We treated ourselves to breakfast out, and fully fueled we headed down Hwy 11 to see Jonesborough, Davy Crocket’s birth place, and the homes of Andrew Johnson our 17^th President in Greenville. Jonesborough is the oldest town in Tennessee founded in 1779. In 1784, North Carolina ceded all the lands west of the mountains to the United States. That left this area without a government. A convention met here and formed the State of Franklin in 17 85. This was news to us. It was never recognized and only lasted a couple of years. Today the town is charming with the old store fronts filled with lovely things to buy. We passed by an old log house from 1777. An officer in the French and Indian war built it. Andrew Jackson lived in it in 1788-89 while he was practicing law here. The Chester Inn began in 1797 and is the oldest continuously occupied Inn. Andrew Jackson, James Polk and Andrew Johnson all stayed here. Jackson had a reception here in the summer of 1832. This town is the home of the National Storytelling Association. They run a 26 week season with a different storyteller every week. We are just missing the beginning of the season. The volunteer opened the lovely theater for us. I would love to sit and enjoy the evening listening to one of the storytellers.

Home Andrew Jackson lived in for two years while he was practicing law.

Check out the unlevel windows!

Further down on Hwy 11 is the town of Limestone, the birthplace of Davy Crocket. We had to make the pilgrimage out to the state park to see the cabin. We all loved the mini series Disney did in 1955 on Davy Crocket. Dave, my little brother, was five and wore his coon skin cap every day. We all gathered around the TV each week and sang “Davy, Davy Crocket, King of the Wild Frontier” and watched one adventure after another. Years later, Mom pulled out the frig and jumped about 10 feet when she saw this furry thing hiding behind it. On further exploration, she discovered it to be the old coon skin cap. Davy was quite a character. His grave marker says Pioneer, Patriot, Soldier, Trapper, Explorer, State Legislator, and Congressman. That just about says it all. “When in politics his primary obsession was to give the squatter and poor settlers on the frontier a national voice for opportunity and fairness in settling the western lands. Outlandish style, language and independence toward Andrew Jackson’s policies created the first real American celebrity from the frontier.” The museum was closed for the afternoon so we moved on.

Davy Crocket's Birthplace

Further down Hwy 11 in Greenville we visited the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. Until today we didn’t know much about our 17^th President. He was Lincoln’s Vice President taking over the Presidency in 1865. He was born into a poor family, his father died when he was young child leaving his mother to try to make do. When he was 10 or 12 he was indentured to a tailor and learned the trade well. We saw a coat that he had made. He ran away from Raleigh, NC and ended up in Greenville setting up his tailoring shop. He married Eliza and together they forged a life in politics. His wife helped him with his reading and writing skills. He had not had time for school growing up. His shop became a place of political debate. He served as Mayor, Governor of TN, State Congressman, US Congressman, Senator, Vice President and President. It surly was not any easy time to take over the Presidency. He believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and did not see eye to eye with Congress. The film and displays in the museum did a wonderful job informing us of this President’s ideals, beliefs and struggles. He stood by his beliefs but didn’t seem to be very effective in the tough times following the Civil War with the Congress he had to deal with. The NP actually built the museum around his tailor shop that still stands today. We saw the home he lived in his earlier days of politics and took a tour of the home he returned to after leaving the Presidency. The tour guide was terrific and there were only five of us on the tour. There was plenty of opportunity to ask questions and see all there was to see. He had three sons and two daughters. Eliza suffered from tuberculosis and passed the disease to some of the children and others that she came in contact with. Little was know about the disease at that point. A great grandchild was living in the home in the 1930’s and saw to it that the home and it’s belongings was purchased by the government. It is amazing today to be able to see the home just the way it had been in Johnson’s life time. The desk was arranged with his papers, the table was set with their china, and the bedrooms were as they had been when he came home from Washington. We left understanding the problems he faced and his belief system that he brought to the office. He must have been a brilliant man full of vim and vigor but at the same time, unable to effectively lead the country down the path he saw for it. The country was so divided and the north wanted retaliation. Very interesting day. On our way out of town we stopped to take a picture of the building that served as the capitol of the State of Franklin from 1785-1788.

Andrew Johnson's Home

Andrew Johnson's Writing Desk
The horseshoe you see on the stack of papers went everywhere
with him to remind him where he has come from and
that he was serving the common man.

The Capitol Building of the State of Franklin

We finished off the day with a great Mexican dinner at Poblanos. Our waiter was darling. We wondered how good Mexican food would be in Tennessee. She said only Mexicans were allowed in the kitchen. They did a great job. She was asking us where we were from. Our accents probably didn’t quite fit in. In conversation we told he what we had done today and she laughed saying she had not seen any of the things we has seen today and had never been out of Tennessee. Maybe she will get on the stick and see some of the history right here. Maybe not. Back at the Manor we broke out the moonshine and mixed it with cranberry juice and Sprite. Right tasty!