Preserving the President’s Legacy
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
“ . . . I believe that my Father was the greatest man this country ever produced!”
Martha Johnson Patterson
Three generations of Andrew Johnson’s family devoted time and effort to preserve his memory and legacy. In 1906, the Johnson family’s burial plot became the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery under the War Department. In 1926, the state of Tennessee enclosed Johnson’s tailor shop and opened it to the public.
Margaret Johnson Patterson Bartlett – Andrew Johnson’s great-granddaughter – lived here in Johnson’s “Homestead” most of her life. In the late 1930s she traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, his wife Eleanor, and numerous senators about preserving this house. Through the family’s efforts, the National Cemetery, Tailor Shop, and Johnson’s Homestead were finally added to the National Park system as Andrew Johnson Monument in 1942.
“When this bill comes before the Senate, will you give it your affirmative vote?”
Margaret Johnson Patterson Bartlett, during meetings with politicians in Washington, D.C.
Marker is on S Main Street (U.S. 321), on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
