West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1895-07-18
THE HERMITAGE.
A Preston Boys Visit To the Old
Home OF Gen. Andrew Jackson.
'rro,pOndence OF TaE ARsus.


July &, 1895.
The Old World has q peculiar at
traction for travellers and every year
thousands of Americans spend as
much time as they they can wander
ing over Europe and Palestine. The
charm of these countries does not
lie In then beauty or the healthful.
ness of their climates, but in the
historic places which are scattered
profusely over them. The traveller
seems to be constantly treading on
sacred grounds while wandering
among the ruined castles of Ger
many, the decayed grandeur Of
Rome, or the sacred hills of Pales-
tine; and few, we are told, can gaze
upon the stone steps by which
Christ climbed to the judgment
hall CT PLATE, without shedding
tears; or see the statue Of Charles
H., in London, gazing into the
window out OF which his father
passed to his doom, without feeling
more sympathy for the beheaded
king Jnan ever before.
America cannot boast of any
great number OF historic places, but
she Is not entirely poor in this re-
spect; for, among others, sho has
her Mount Vernon and her Her
mtage.
President Andrew Jackson GER
talnly merits the respect OF his
countrymen. While, no doubt, he
had faults; still, he had virtue to
eclipse every fault, and q glorious
act to cover every mean one. and
both virtues and good deeds in
abundance to spare.
The Hermitage, the farm on
which he spent most of his life and
finally ended it, is situated near the
Cumberland river, about twenty
miles above Nashville. The State
of Tennessee bought the farm a few
years ago and gave 276 acres of it
for a Confederate Soldiers Home.
Commodious buildings were built
upon it, and it is now occupied by
quite number of old soldiers. The
remaining twenty-five acres, in
cluding the Hermitage mansion,
was given into the charge of "a COM
mlttee of ladies for limited time.
The ladies have caused the house to
be open to visitors at all times, and
celebration is held there each 4th
of July.
did not choose TO withstand
recent temptation to visit this his
toric old place. 1t is about three
miles from the nearest railroad sta
ton, but my walk through the hot
sun was quickly forgotten as l APP
preached the Hermitage farm. The
pike which passes by 1T IS one Of
the best in Tennessee. The pike
here runs along a slight ridge par
allel to the river, and tho Hermit
age lies between it and the river.
The view Of the Hermitage farm
from this pike is one OF rural
beauty. The ground slopes very
gently from the pike toward the
river for a short distance, then be-
comes level. About one half Of the
land is in wheat and the remainder
is planted in corn, except where
the cedar groves shade the pastures
and add beauty to the whole.
i never saw wheat grow more
luIurisnt; these fields, they told
me, would yield thirty bushels per
acre. The lane which extends to
the house is berdered by trees of
several kinds, and as l approached
the gate in front Of the house, the
shade became 80 deep and pleasant
that / stopped to look around. The
house was almost invisible on ac-
count of the dense foliage, and
began to doubt if it was the house
for which ] was looking, but my
fears were dispelled when / saw a
small stone structure in the garden,
which looked much like a WELL
house, but which i knew to be the
tomb of Gen. Jackson.
Between the gate at which I stood
and the house is what looked TO be
a dense grove, but what in reality
is a very peculiar driveway, lined
with cedars, set out by President
Jackson sixty years ago. The drive
way is in the shape Of a guitar,
twenty rods long, the neck extend
ing TO the gate and the other end
grazing the front side Of the house.
wandered up this shady drive
way till the house loomed up, lone
some and gray, at the large end Of
the guitar. The house, which is
built Of brick, is "L" shaped, the
front being about sixty feet long.
A porch, whose roof, which is sup
ported by a number Of ponderous
columns, is as high as the house.
extends along nearly the whole
front. As approached the house,
a peafowl, giving q shrill scream,
vanished into the cedar grove. The
scream evidently aroused an old
negro, who, sleeping in the cool
shade, bad not noticed my ap-
I prOach. He succeeded IN getting