Trousdale Place is a historic

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

in Gallatin, Sumner County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. It was the home of

John H. Bowen John Henry Bowen (September 1780September 25, 1822) was an American politician who represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives. Biography Bowen was born in Washington County, Virginia in September 1780, son of Captain W ...

, local attorney and member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, and of governor of Tennessee William Trousdale.

Description

Trousdale Place is a two-story

Federal-style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

structure with staggered Flemish-bond brickwork.Tennessee Civil War Trail Marker at Trousdale Place

History

John Bowen built the house circa 1813. Bowen died in 1822. The site of the house had been part of a

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

in lieu of payment to James Trousdale, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He sold this portion for the platting of the town of Gallatin. His son William Trousdale purchased the house in 1836 and later was elected as

Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...

. The house was Trousdale's principal residence until his death there in 1872. His widow lived there until her death in the following decade, when the house was passed to their son, Julius Trousdale. After the 1899 deaths of Julius and his only living child, Julius' widow, Annie Berry Trousdale, deeded the home to a local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Since then, the house has been known as Trousdale Place. A

Confederate monument In the United States, the public display of Confederate monuments, memorials and symbols has been and continues to be controversial. The following is a list of Confederate monuments and memorials that were established as public displays and symb ...

was installed on the front lawn in 1903. The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1975. In the 1970s, the Sumner County Museum was started as a small collection displayed inside Trousdale Place. By 1979, the museum was ready to build its own facility and was given permission to build on the grounds of Trousdale Place. Today the house shares its grounds with the Sumner County Museum and is open to the public for tours by appointment. The interior of the house is furnished with original Trousdale furniture. It also contains a small library focused on the Confederacy.

References

{{reflist *''Sumner County Fact Book 2007-2008''. ''The News Examiner'' & ''The Hendersonville Star News''. 2007.

External links

Official website of Trousdale Place
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Museums in Sumner County, Tennessee Historic house museums in Tennessee Federal architecture in Tennessee Houses in Sumner County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Sumner County, Tennessee Governor of Tennessee