Rock Castle (Hendersonville, Tennessee) - Museum

Museum

There are four original items within the mansion that belonged to the first Smiths. They are the Sugar chest, the blanket chest, Senator Smith’s desk and the original land grant from the State of North Carolina. One hundred of Daniel Smith’s books are in the museum archives. George’s sideboard and a later generation’s grandfather clock is also within the mansion. Costs of entering the mansion are $5.00 for adults and $4.00 for seniors and students.

Because the Smiths were famous for their peach brandy, a recent attempt has been made to recreate the peach orchard. Peach trees and apple trees have been recently purchased from Monticello. They are heirloom seedlings. The seedlings were started sometime in 2012. Previously, the Daughters of the American Revolution had tried to plant peach trees in the center island. However, due to drought, those did not survive. Visitors can visit the seedling orchard at no cost. However, a donation for tree replacement is appreciated.

The State of Tennessee owns the property and the buildings at Rock Castle. The Friends of Rock Castle, Inc. owns all of the artifacts. Prisoners mow the front yard with an agreement with the City of Hendersonville Police Department, and the historic site. The same police department has dog training and trials on the grounds weekly. This is done to foster relationships with the police department and people of Hendersonville because it gives people a sense of ownership and pride in historic properties. It also knows the grounds in case of an emergency.

The Friends of Rock Castle was formed in 1969 at time when the mansion and grounds were sold to the state from a Smith descendant. Board members take pride in the fact that Smith relatives have only owned the house. Sarah Crosby Berry was one of the founding members of the board. Each board member, save one, serves a three-year term. There are fifteen board members, including a “board member for life” who is Melinda Gaines, who has been on the board over twenty years. Most board members are very active with the site.

At the time of museum creation, the State of Tennessee removed years of updates to the mansion. One update was the removal of a concrete floor in a bathroom, which turned out to be the kitchen. Sarah Berry assisted with the selection of the stones for the flooring based on her memory from when she was a child. Dormers were removed from the central portion of the house with the assumption that they were added later. However, they were actually original to that edition of the mansion, but are too expensive to restore at this point.

Most rooms are currently being interpreted from the late eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century Regency era. The room off the dining room is being interpreted as the master bedroom because it is known that later in life, the Smiths did sleep in this room. However, there is no proof that it was built and utilized as such originally. The room immediately above is being used as an exhibit room because there is no proof of use. The room where the dormers had been is extremely dark. It is being interpreted as a slave quarter at this time. In total, visitors are able to view all eight rooms in the house today.