Tennessee - Greenville

After a nice stay in the Nashville area, we headed east to explore Eastern Tennessee.  We checked into the RV Park in Sevierville (Severe-ville), just outside of Pigeon Forge.

The park was fairly empty - more on that later.

First stop was Greenville, the home of our 17th President, Andrew Johnson.  

We went into town to the Visitor's Center.  There we found the original tailor shop that Andrew Johnson owned before he went into politics.  It was where the men in town gathered to discuss the issues of the time.  A building was built surrounding the tailor shop in order to preserve it but it is still open for visitors to look inside.

There was an interesting movie about Andrew Johnson's life and his rise to the presidency.  

From there we made a short drive to the cemetery where he is interred.  We've seen nearly every presidential grave site but this is one we hadn't seen.

Andrew Johnson originally acquired 23 acres in 1852 which was known as Signal Hill because it was a good place for soldiers to signal to friendly forces.  When Johnson died, he was interred on the hill and three years later, a tall monument was placed next to his grave.  It was then that the hill's name was changed to Monument Hill because the monument was so prominent.  In 1898 Johnson's daughter willed the land to become a park.  She further pushed in 1900 for it to become a national park so that the Johnson family would no longer own it.  The US Congress decided it would become a National Cemetery in 1906 and in 1908 the US War Department took control.  By 1939 there were 100 graves in the cemetery - today there are approximately 2,000 graves.

The view is beautiful which is the reason Andrew Johnson chose this place for his final resting spot.

Back in the truck for the short drive to the Andrew Johnson home.

We had a tour scheduled and were surprised that there was only one couple joining us.  We had met the guide, Susan, at the Visitor's Center and she was great.  

Susan on the porch

She had an amazing amount of information and was able to tell us about each room without ever looking inside.

There were only two rooms on the first floor.  The parlor, where Andrew Johnson received guests.

The piano was purchased for about $500 and was beautiful.  Andrew Johnson was known to be frugal so it is amazing that he spent the equivalent of about $18,500 today.  

We went across the hall to his bedroom.  

Interesting to note that he did not share a bedroom with his wife, Eliza, who suffered from tuberculosis. I was surprised that she had a bedroom upstairs, which would have been difficult for a disabled person to get to.  Susan explained that President Johnson liked to be downstairs to receive guests and protect the family.  Eliza rarely left her bedroom.

This was her 'invalid' chair.  Notice the spittoon next to the chair - a necessary item for someone with tuberculosis.

After leaving the house and on the recommendation of a guide in the Visitor's Center, we stopped at the local historical library.  Since Ron had ancestors in Eastern Tennessee, we hoped we might find something interesting.

The two ladies were anxious to help us and scoured a lot of books.

June and Katie

They seemed flattered when we asked for a photo

We found a few tidbits of information on some collateral ancestors but otherwise, nothing new.  

What a great day and an opportunity to check a presidential gravesite off of our list.