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| It was raining this day, but the house was no less beautiful. This is actually the rear of the house, with a reconstructed porch. |
The last day of my Tennessee trip, Mr. Ramsey, myself, Albert, and Maggie and I traveled up to Louisville to see Locust Grove, a home built in 1790 by William and Lucy Clark Croghan. Mr. Cushing gave us the full tour and weathered by interrogative questions like a champ. The story of the restoration of Locust Grove was fascinating, especially how they came to discover that the walls were painted verdigris (obnoxioussss!), and the discovery of the original wallpaper in the 2nd-storey greatroom. If you can visit Locust Grove, I highly recommend it, especially during the Jane Austen Festival, which I unfortunately missed this past year. More about Locust Grove here: http://www.locustgrove.org/
And pictures…
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| Verdigris, see? It was rather greener than this, to my eye, and in no short supply. My question is how long it stayed on the walls before someone decided it was too obnoxious and repainted. |
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| Mr. Cushing informed us that this was real liquor, lol. |
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| The doo-dads in the house made it feel as if the inhabitants had just stepped out. It also made me really want tea. |
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| I noticed this style of chair was quite popular, painted in various ways. Bright blue chairs in this style were also in Andrew Jackson’s home, The Hermitage |
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| Still wishing for tea… |
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| The outbuildings were constructed fairly recently over the footprints of the originals. These included the smokehouse and kitchen. |
That was it for my trip to Tennessee (and Kentucky, and Indiana). The next morning I hopped my flights back to boring ole Nevada, and had to leave the 18th century behind. It made such an impression on me, though. Just being in the landscape felt so…historical, if that makes sense. :-). Special thanks to Brian Cushing for giving us the tour, to Maggie and Albert for being fantastic hosts, to Michael Ramsey for the wonderful tea and good company, and to Tom and Toni Tumbusch for being amazing dance hosts and callers. I miss you all already!
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6 Comments
Rowenna
November 22, 2011 at 7:33 PMI'm so glad you got to visit the Grove! I think it's the happiest place on earth 🙂 I'd add–visiting during 18th Century Thunder (a Rev War spring muster event) or the fall Market Faire (18th century as well) are also great times! I need to go to the Jane Austen festival next summer!
I agree about the verdigris! It all used to be much more subdued before the recent redocoration based on the 1810 (I believe) decor in the home–I'm not sure Mrs. Croghan and I would agree on home decor.
Lauren R
November 22, 2011 at 8:46 PMHahaha, I thought the same about the verdigris…wondering how Mrs Croghan liked it, or didn't :-). I'd love to see Locust Grove in the Spring or Summer sometime. I know this isn't the last time I'll be there 🙂
ZipZip
November 23, 2011 at 1:41 AMDear Lauren,
Do come back to Locust Grove! It's such a gracious, happy place, and the grounds big enough to feel really elsewhere in time.
Sure envy you all the lovely Tennessee fun. Though just 3.5 hours away, with young kids I feel like it could be as far off as the moon.
Very best,
Natalie
KittyKatt
November 23, 2011 at 2:14 PMI rather fancy the verdigris, but then I'm kind of an eclectic sort. It always surprises me when I realize (again) that people in the past had all kinds of color preferences and that pastels were not the only choice, even back then.
Glad you had a nice time, Lauren! Keep the posts coming. You're such an inspiration to us all!
Anonymous
November 30, 2011 at 8:22 PMI haven't visited Locust Grove since the 1970's. It's close to my heart because I'm a descendent of the Rogers family. My dad looked so much like George Rogers Clark it was eerie to see him in the same room with that portrait.
Jennifer
December 29, 2011 at 10:22 PMYou know, for the two years we lived in Louisville, I did not learn about this house 🙁
Now we are in Texas. Oh well, I guess when we visit next I will try to stop by. Thanks for the information!