In a quiet, leafy corner south of downtown Nashville, Travellers Rest offers a calm and fascinating step back in time. It is the oldest historic house museum open to the public in Nashville: a handsome Federal-style home built in 1799 by Judge John Overton, a close friend and adviser of Andrew Jackson, on Farrell Parkway.
Guided house tours, lasting about an hour, lead visitors through carefully preserved rooms filled with early 19th-century furnishings and stories of the Overton family and life in a young Tennessee. Outside, self-guided grounds tours invite a relaxed stroll through green lawns and gardens, while exhibitions and programs explore 1,000 years of history, from Mississippian settlement through the 19th century. The museum welcomes more than 12,000 children and adult visitors each year, and its education mission makes it a rewarding stop for learners of all ages.
Travellers Rest, at 636 Farrell Parkway, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with house tours offered on the hour and the last tour in the mid-afternoon; reservations are suggested. For anyone who loves beautiful old houses, shady grounds and a gentle, unhurried visit, this treasured Nashville place is a happy discovery.
Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
