The Nashville (TN) zoo has a historic plantation house (Grassmere) on its grounds. A half-hour tour of the mansion is included in the price of the zoo ticket. I've been in the house several times now, but I always learn something new about its architecture, furnishings, and history.
The tours start at the front door. I always take a lot of photos inside, and I'm always disappointed in how they turn out. They don't allow flash photography and it's quite dark in many of the rooms, so a very steady hand is needed.
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| Chairs pulled close for winter warmth |
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| Nursery, with door to another bedroom |
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| Another bedroom on the second floor |
After the tour ends on the back porch, it's a short walk down the sidewalk to the kitchen (a separate building) and across the lawn to the vegetable garden. Visitors can walk through the arched trellis, open the garden gates, and wander through plantings of heirloom and period vegetables and flowers.
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| Shaded benches for weary gardeners |
The family graveyard is also in the back yard. The last burials there were the Croft sisters, Margaret and Elise, who were the last residents of the house.
The story of their desire for the Grassmere farm to become a nature sanctuary is told very well on the zoo's website.
A number of farm animals live in the barn and barnyard. and some sleepy barn owls roost under the barn's roof trusses.They don't seem to be caged in any way, so I suppose they fly around outside at night. It's always nice to see native animals living of their own free will in a zoo. The Croft sisters would be pleased.
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| Barn owls on top of their nest box |
You might enjoy this post about the Nashville zoo on my old blog, too:
Memorable Visits to the Zoo
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