Middle Tennessee Popular Historical Sites

Stones River National Battlefield: Stones River National Battlefield is the only federally funded and run site that I visited. I wasn't very impressed by the extra funding to be honest. I paid for the audio tour to play in my car while I drove around to the different sites but it was really dry and the man narrating it was fairly monotone. I wound up turning it off before finishing my visit. The facilities were nice and the people that work there were friendly and helpful but all in all it's not a place I'd have any real interest in visiting again. Since I like history and usually enjoy going to places like that, I'm especially surprised by my lack of interest. I did find it interesting to see some of the relics that were featured, like an old Bible and the uniforms, and I did learn a few new things. What interested and moved me the most, though, had to be the cemetery. The sheer number of graves neatly lined one against the other had much more impact than the audio tour or the cannons setting next to mannequins dressed like soldiers. I was surprised by the number of graves and also by the fact that it was mostly Union and both men and women were buried there. I can't imagine how much bigger it would have been if Confederates had been buried there as well. I would recommend visiting the graveyard because I think that it would have an impact on anyone, not just those interested in history but I don't think I'd recommend the rest of the site. I especially can't recommend the audio tour unless it gets updated because I can't stress enough how bad it was. I would have preferred a brief synopsis of each site that I could read while there than listening to someone drone on slowly and with no emotion about the battle.

Carter House: The Carter House was the only site I visited in Franklin though I'd like to go back to some of the others. I had learned about the Battle of Franklin in a college class before I went so I think that added to my enjoyment. All of the people were really friendly and helpful in spite of me choosing a bad day to go - some local schools were apparently having their Blue and Grey Days so the place was absolutely packed with school kids and teachers. Everyone was patient and helpful though, even with the crowd and noise. I liked that it is a non-profit organization that runs it as everyone seemed much more interested in their work than at some sites I've visited in the past. For me, knowing how the Carter family was trapped in the basement waiting for the carnage that was the Battle of Franklin to end while I was visiting the house itself had a major impact. The story of Tod Carter being killed in battle while so very close to his home and his family finding out also really struck a cord. I liked hearing about the war from a personal point of view rather than a statistical one. Overall the tour was interesting. I liked being in a place with so much history that seemed to be cared for by people actually interested in it. I'd like to go back with some family one day as I think they'd enjoy it too. One thing I didn't like was the price. I know that it's run by a non-profit but it was $6.50 more than the audio tour at Stones River and twice as much as the admission to the Athenaeum Rectory in Columbia. While it was definitely an interesting tour, that can add up to be a lot of money if you go with others.

James K. Polk Home: I had visited the James K. Polk home in Columbia for a Tennessee History class years before, back when I was a kid. I didn't remember very much about it other than the furniture, though. So I chose to go there first. Unfortunately, it would seem that I wasn't forgetting a whole lot. While I realize that it's the only house still standing that the adult James K. Polk lived in (other than the White House), he only lived there about 5 or 6 years and it was before he really did much in his career and before he even got married to Sarah Childress. This is kind of obvious when you visit because the tour seems to have a lot of filler. When I pay to visit and tour a house to learn about a President I don't want to learn about the type of mirror on the wall in the bedroom, nor see historical utensils in the kitchen where Polk probably spent very little time. There are lots of objects that belonged to James and Sarah Childress Polk but since Sarah never even lived in the house it just seemed out of place to me. The people were friendly and helpful but I can't say I was very impressed with the site as a whole. I do wonder if maybe I just expected too much because it's one of the main tourist attractions in Columbia. I can't say that I'd recommend visiting, though if you want to just visit the house as an example of period items then it's great. I did really like that you could take the tour whenever you showed up rather than having to wait on a set tour time.

Athenaeum Rectory: Of the 4 historical sites that I visited, the Athenaeum Rectory has got to be my favorite, no doubt. You know it's unique from the moment you see the outside of the building, which stands out from the crowd even now. The building is well-kept even though the other buildings from the school have been destroyed by fire or torn down due to being so beyond repair. Again, you can take the tour whenever you get there and not have to wait for a set tour time and the very small admission fee is well worth it. The tour is only about 40 minutes roughly, so it's easy to visit whenever you have the chance. My tour guide was really helpful and eager to answer any questions I had. I learned how the school was kept in operation even during the Civil War, and how Mrs. Smith would continue to have classes in the bedrooms when the number of girls attended dwindled so that no one could take the property or ransack it saying it was abandoned. I also learned that many homes had the carpeting taken out and replaced with wood floors after the discovery of germs. I didn't realize how well-known the school was, that girls from all over the country attended. It was interesting to be somewhere that really didn't have much of an equal during the time it was operating. I also like that the Athenaeum still offers a kind of school for girls during part of the year. I learned more from this site than I did from the others, probably because it's now more of a local piece of history than a national one so the information is less common. I'd not only recommend going but I'll probably sign up for the Ladies Weekend that they hold in May where you can take some of the same classes that would have been taken when the school was functioning.