Historic Rock Castle

Who doesn't love an old historic home. Better yet, who doesn't love an old historic home built out of limestone that heralds back to the pioneer days.

Come along as I walk the grounds around the beautiful Historic Rock Castle situated in Hendersonville, Tennessee. While Hendersonville is famous for being the home of many country music stars, it is more importantly home to the Historic Rock Castle house. Rock Castle was built in the Federal style design and crafted from beautiful limestone.

Daniel Smith, a Virginia surveyor, and a Brigadier General in the Revolutionary War, began construction of Rock Castle in 1784 using land grants awarded him for his service in the military. Later, Smith became a member on the committee that eventually framed the Bill of Rights. He also became a U. S. Senator. Having been a surveyor, he was commissioned to determine the divisional lines between Kentucky and Tennessee which today is still the border between the two states.

The Smith Family occupied Rock Castle for 200 years. The house wasn't actually completed until 1791 due to several Indian attacks that occurred during construction. Smith owned 3,000 acres of land around Rock Castle which he farmed using slaves until after the Revolutionary War, and sharecroppers thereafter. Rock Castle is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The main house sits right next to what was then Drake's Creek. After the Tennessee Valley Authority was formed in modern day, Drake's Creek became Old Hickory Lake. Behind the main house sits a quaint barn with a rusty tin roof made out of the same limestone as the house. Situated next to the house are two flower gardens that were buzzing with bees and butterflies.

Trying to imagine what life was like living in the late 1700's in this historic old home boggles my mind, especially considering during the building of the house there were frequent Indian attacks. Those really were the pioneer days and this literally was one of the first permanent settlements in middle Tennesse at that time. I hope you enjoyed walking the grounds around Historic Rock Castle. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I will be back soon. ENJOY!

Favorites Series - Wisteria

Wisteria's purple blooms are so beautiful. Wispy and winding they hang off of the Wisteria tree in large bunches. When I see a Wisteria tree filled with bunches of blooms, a magical feeling comes over me. Several years ago on a sunny April afternoon, I visited Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. Cave Hill is on the National Register of Historic Places and is definitely a 'must do' stop if you visit downtown Louisville. There is a beautiful lake, gorgeous architectural gardens and headstones and landscaped lawns everywhere. Ornamental trees and bushes thrive throughout the entire grounds. I love Wisterias and decided this image would be perfect for my Favorites Series.

On a side note, it isn't often that I can say I haven't been out to take photographs for a good while. In this case it's been about six weeks. No sooner had I gotten over bronchitis than I had to have some major dental work, two root canals and two crowns. I thought I had escaped ever having to have a root canal especially after hearing all of the horror stories about them over the years. There have been more people working in my mouth in the past week than I think there have been in my whole life. Thankfully, that is behind me and Spring is upon us. ENJOY!

Fall's Bounty

The holidays are almost upon us and with Thanksgiving comes roast turkey and dressing, sweet potatoes and green bean casserole, and that ever present pumpkin pie with heaping spoonfuls of whipped cream. Next Thursday marks our Thanksgiving holiday celebration. The meaning of which oftentimes gets lost in the height of the day's festivities around the table. And yet I tend to think we all remember at least once throughout the day the burdens our forefathers weathered in those bygone days. As I ventured throughout the small historical town of Leiper's Fork last weekend, I noticed the remnants of Fall's bounty all around me from the beautiful purple hues of the large ornamental cabbages to the deep oranges of the leftover pumpkins. ENJOY!

Vintage America

Leiper's Fork is a very tiny little town that is situated east of the Natchez Trace Parkway southwest of Nashville. I drove the Trace south of Nashville and exited onto the road going into Leiper's Fork this past weekend. This small town is made up of farmers, artists and musicians hence the art galleries and restaurant featuring live country music.

I can never pass up an opportunity to snap a few images of the remnants of by gone days, one being what looked like an old Model T, and the other an old tricycle. While walking the tiny town, I ventured into a couple of the shops and had a quick bite at one of the few restaurants in town. There was a band playing, but unfortunately they took a break just as I sat down outside.

A large number of country musicians have settled in and around Williamson County which is south of Nashville just east of Leiper's Fork. When Williamson County began encroaching on the small towns nearby, Leiper's Fork decided to protect its heritage and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. America doesn't have enough thriving small towns in my opinion so seeing Leiper's Fork thriving was heartwarming. It made for a nice afternoon. Just to show you how welcoming these folks are, several of the shops even have fire pits and rockers out front for visitors to gather and sit a spell in the cooler months. Truly Americana. Back soon with more images. ENJOY!

Reflections, Cave Hill Cemetery

Several times a year I visit Cave Hill Cemetery which is located in the center of the city of Louisville. Cave Hill is not your average cemetery. It is actually a Victorian era cemetery and an arboretum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are over 120,000 people buried in the almost 300 acre cemetery with a signicant number of military as far back as the Civil War. It's an amazing place to visit. What I enjoy about this cemetery is not only the ornate headstones with their architecture and the sculptures adorning many of the headstones, but the many sizes and shapes. Some are large enough to be small houses. Did I mention the individual mausoleums scattered everywhere throughout the cemetery. Their fascinating, every one.

I visit Cave Hill Cemetery to see the beautiful ornamental trees and bushes of every variety imaginable which grow throughout the acreage. Spring is gorgeous with all of the flowering trees and bushes and flowers. Fall is just as beautiful with reds and oranges and yellows everywhere. This year my visit was a tad late and most of the foliage had fallen.

After driving through the entrance of the cemetery, I followed the map I had up on my iPad, and made my way to the back of the cemetery where a small lake sits hidden away from most visitors. A large limestone cliff butts up against the lake on all but one side. I had hopes that there might be a photo op there and as luck would have it, I was right. A beautiful tree covered in yellow leaves hung over the lake. Even better was the diffused light as the sun was hidden behind cloud cover which allowed for some beautiful reflections on the water.

Before I leave you, I might add that if you live anywhere in the central or northern United States, you have snow on the ground or are getting snow this week as we are here in Kentucky tonight. Fall has given way to Winter, in mid November no less, which is not typical, but not surprising after the Winter we had last year. I hope this finds you safe, warm and nestled warmly on the sofa with a warm drink in hand. I leave you with this parting thought. I did not want to become up close and personal with the 'polar vortex' but obviously I didn't get a vote. ENJOY!