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Trustee Emeritus Award for Excellence in the Stewardship of Historic Sites
In November 2000,
the National Trust for Historic Preservation presented this prestigious
award to The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America "for
acquiring, restoring, and interpreting a collection of historic properties
that offer invaluable opportunities to experience the rich variety of
America's heritage."
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NSCDA in Tennessee Museum Property |
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TRAVELLERS REST
(1799-1833)
Address:
636 Farrell Parkway, Nashville, TN 37220
Telephone:
(615) 832-8197
Open:
Tuesday through Saturday:
10:00 am to 4:30 pm
Sunday: 1:00 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m. Last tour
is daily at 4:00 pm
Closed:
Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas,
and New Year's Day.
Directions:
Six miles south of downtown Nashville.
From I-65 South, take Exit 78B, Harding Place. Go left at light onto
Franklin Road, go left at Farell Road (about 1 mile), and follow signs
to Travellers Rest.
Web site:
http://www.travellersrestplantation.org
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Photograph by Erik Kvalsvik
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Travellers Rest, once home to the
influential Overton family, has been welcoming visitors to Nashville since
the late 18th century. The historic house museum and the collection
interpret life in Middle Tennessee from 1799 to 1833. The museum
is a window to life in the early antebellum years. In addition, archaeological
evidence of the site's earliest occupants, pre-historic Native Americans,
and the involvement of a later generation of Overtons in the Civil War,
enable the historic site to interpret "One Thousant Years of Tennessee
History."
Judge John Overton, builder of Travellers
Rest, served as a superior court judge for the State of Tennessee.
He was involved in banking and land speculation and helped establish Memphis,
Tennessee. Because of a close friendship with Andrew Jackson, Overton
became Jackson's presidential campaign advisor. At Travellers Rest,
he was host to Jackson, Sam Houston, and many other dignitaries of the
day.
In 1954, The National Society of
The Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee, which still owns this property,
rescued the house and grounds from threatened demolition and commenced
restoration. Travellers Rest is now operated by a non-profit organization
with a professional staff whose Board of Directors and membership include
both Colonial Dames and members of the community. NSCDA in the State
of Tennessee provides the Museum with significant support, financial and
otherwise, and maintains its headquarters there.
Travellers Rest is Nashville's oldest
historic house open to the public. Restoration is based on the interpretative
plan of architectural historian, William Seale. NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
ACCREDITED: NSCDA MUSEUM
PROPERTIES |
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