Blount Mansion

On June 23, 2010, my Museology I class took a field trip to the Blount Mansion. I honestly had no idea that it was there so it was a pleasant surprise to discover a beautiful and lovingly preserved piece of history that dramatically shaped the future of the state of Tennessee.

Governor William Blount was appointed by President George Washington to the "Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio." Tucked away near the river where the Treaty of Holston was signed, William Blount moved the capital of his foundling state to Knoxville, previously governed in the home of William Cobb at Rocky Mount. As I am not a native Knoxvillian, it was interesting to learn that the city I now call home was named for General Henry Knox, one of Washington's guards.

The Blount Mansion was built in 1792 in a city that did not yet exist. Mary Blount, William's wife, was from a wealthy family in North Carolina and insisted that a proper house be built. While one could consider her demand to be extravagant, as the wife of a governor Mary needed a place to entertain dignitaries, such as an exiled French king. The mansion, once called the "house of many eyes," due to the unusual amount of windows for the time and location, was the only settlement for miles and travelers needed a place to stay.

The main room consisted of the master bedroom and a makeshift parlor/dining room that would go through many furniture adjustments during the day. Intern Sarah Rainwater explained how guests would be entertained and fed their four course midday meal in the same room and a simple adjustment of the table would completely change the purpose of the room. Houses were taxed according to how many rooms one had so it was important for the Blounts to work with what the had. I have to say that I would have a major problem with guests sitting on my bed but back then privacy and personal space was much harder to come by. It was very interesting that they were able to track down William's actual chair that he would have sat in by the fire. One could tell that even if they did not have the actual pieces of furniture used in the house they made great attempts in finding furniture that dated from the correct time period.

A parlor was later added to the house and contained artifacts that would have impressed the wealth and prestige of the occupants. The most eye catching piece was a
Persian rug that dated back to 1801 depicting a story from Aesop's fable. Textile stories were a unique way of proving one's knowledge of foreign culture, appreciation of the finer things, and served a practical purpose in warming the cold, wooden floors. A piano forte graces the room, another reminder of the family's wealth as only rich people had the means to pay for lessons for their daughters. Piano playing used to be a requisite for marrying into a prominent family so any proper young girl would know how to play. Playing cards were a luxury as printing was very expensive back then and only the wealthy would have bought their own set. William transferred ownership of the mansion to his younger brother "Willie" in 1797 and the parlor holds two portraits of the second owner. One portrait is official while the other is known as a "limner" portrait, meaning that the artist had already painted the body and everything before the patron purchased it. "Willie" would have picked the one that he found most suitable and the artist simply had to paint his face in.

The guest room, which holds an early example of a Sevier desk, designed by John Sevier, was originally the slave house which was attached to the house to become another wing. It was not until archaeologists did some detective work did they realize the original layout of the house. Changes were also made to the attic, leading early Blount Mansion staffers to believe that it was divided into girl and boy rooms. This was found to be incorrect and they now know that the attic was originally one big space as there was not much gender differention in children until the age of nine. As old kitchens tend to do, the original burned down and a new one was built in its place. A rather stuff space, a family of four well treated slaves tended the kitchen and insured that the meals were properly made. Mary Blount and her daughters were not idle and would make candles in the kitchen using excess animal fat. Candle making was a source of pride and would have been rationed. Nowadays, the Blount Mansion hires a colonial chef to prepare a meal in the kitchen once a year. This sounds like a cute little tradition and perhaps they should try to promote the idea to the public.

The Governor's office is a separate room on the premise and was literally the birthplace of Tennessee, not to mention being the state capital for a time. It is the reason that the Blount Mansion was named a National Historic Landmark and received a grant for renovation from the Tennessee Historical Commission in 1955. Although debates and drafts for the state constitution occurred primarily on Gay Street, the final draft was written and signed in Blount's Office in January 1796 and came into effect June 1st of that year. The office contains many objects that would have been useful to the eighteenth century politician, such as cloth for quills, cow horn cups, and of course whiskey, brandy, and tobacco, which are useful in politics even today.

I could go on and on about the many things to see at Blount Mansion but that would probably require an entire book. While it was a very enjoyable trip, there are some things that could use some improvement. I understand that air conditioning is neither historically appropriate or inexpensive the simple fact is that people are not going to want to visit an uncomfortable location and that really should be the main goal. As interesting as the rooms were, I found myself loosing focus and wanting to go back outside.

It was also extremely difficult to keep track with everything that our intern tour guide said as she was talking a mile a minute on information overload. I am not saying that I could do any better and maybe she was just nervous but I found it hard to pay attention to everything she was saying. I understand that this is a Museology class and museums are not always fun and games but I think she should have kept some of her opinions to herself. It was like listening to a personal rant for half an hour and she certainly does not make me want to become an intern for Blount Mansion, which seems like the opposite effect she should have had. My first impression of the Visitor's Center was not that great until we learned that she was responsible for setting the majority of the display up. It made me a little less critical but again, it felt to me like she was complaining about having to take care of it. As I have a lot of experience in labeling artifacts it was a little disconcerting that she admitted to using "white out" as a base for the accession numbers and even more so that the collections were stored in a closet.

All in all, it is a nice place to visit but I am very glad that I do not work there. It has a lot of potential, once they find a better use for the Visitor's Center but the amount of bitterness Sarah seemed to hold points to the vast amount of problems that Blount Mansion contains. Perhaps they should first start with some counseling sessions for the staff.