Travellers Rest Plantation & Museum is one of the most unique historic homes in the Nashville,Tennessee area.  If you want the history of early Nashville then this is the place to visit.  The home, built by Judge John Overton was completed in 1799 - just three years after Tennessee gained statehood.  At that time, Tennessee was the Western frontier and Nashville was the place that many came to make their fortune.  John Overton, the founder of Memphis, had a circle of friends that included the likes of Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston.   Overton was one of Jackson's closest friends and a driving force in Jackson's campaign for the presidency.  He and men like him used politics and power to expand the nation and their wallets.  Years later, Overton's son would be the wealthiest man in the state of Tennessee and builder of the Maxwell House Hotel.  During his time at Travellers Rest the home would be used as the headquarters for General John Bell Hood in the days leading to the Battle of Nashville.  The estate's peach orchard would be marred by the battle's bloodiest fighting.

But wait...this place has even more history and that of a more ancient nature.  About 900 years ago the land where Travellers Rest sits today was a prehistoric Mississippian village.  The Mississippian culture spread along the rivers of the Southeastern United States between approximately AD 900 and 1500, and left behind numerous archaeological sites and earthen mounds. In 1798 while digging the cellar at what would become Travellers Rest , workers uncovered a number of artifacts and human bones. After examining the remains, John Overton named the house "Golgotha", a biblical reference to the "place of skulls".  Later, Overton would rename his house the decidely friendlier monicker of Travellers Rest. 

Travellers Rest is rich with the stories of Nashville's early history.  It is a small site so you don't have to worry about elbowing through the tour bus crowd and you might end up feeling that you have the place to yourself.  The home is furnished with period and family pieces all dating to the 1830's or earlier.  You won't find any plexiglass encased rooms so it is easy to imagine the home with the life and energy it held during the 1800's.  The historic home offers guided tours (sometimes your guide might just be the curator!) for $10.00 adults, $9.00 seniors (60+) and AAA, $5.00 students (13-18), $3.00 children (6-12) and under 6 are free or choose the unguided tour of the grounds for $2.00 per person. Travellers Rest is open every day from 10 a.m until 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.  For a unique history tour try combining Travellers Rest with The Hermitage and Cragfont for a glimpse into three big names on the Tennessee frontier with Overton, Jackson and Winchester.  If you like the Civil War try visiting the Carter House and Carnton Plantation in the nearby town of Franklin (Battle of Franklin) then move up to Nashville and visit Travellers Rest and Belle Meade for the Battle of Nashville. Don't miss out on this historic gem...one of Nashville's hidden treasures!