Wednesday, May 26, 2010

You Know You're a History Geek When......




I reached another milestone in the book process yesterday. I have been wanting to tour the Lotz House for awhile now, so I told myself I could go once I finished this part. It's a Civil War era house that was under fire in the Battle of Franklin.

The house belonged to Johann Albert Lotz, pictured at the top.

From the Lotz House site ( www.lotzhouse.com )-
In 1855, German immigrant Johann Albert Lotz purchased five acres of land from Fountain Branch Carter. Three years later in 1858, after doing most of the work himself, Lotz completed his home. By trade, Mr. Lotz was a master carpenter and a piano maker. He also repaired guitars and violins. His home served as his “show house” to demonstrate his carpentry work to potential clients. The three fireplace mantles demonstrate his range from simple to very complex designs.

There are also several battle scars including the charred, rounded indention in the wood flooring where a cannonball flew through the roof, a second story bedroom, and then landed on the first floor and rolled. In addition, the home has an impressive solid black walnut wraparound handrail that starts on the ground floor and wraps all the way around to the second floor.

Can't wait!

3 comments:

  1. Well! Let me just say it was a humdinger of a tour. Fantastic guide, (Thanks, TJ), beautiful house, and more to the story than I realized. There's a major Paul Harvey moment regarding Lotz's daughter that's worth the price of admission in itself.

    Jamison- you'd love the tour guide. True Southern gentleman, right down to the seersucker! He really brought the battle to life with piercing insights into what the family must have experienced that day.

    Even after the many, many tours about the Battle of Franklin I've enjoyed, I learned a lot.

    Tip- If you go, don't miss the belt buckle in the cabinet. I can hardly believe what I saw!

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  2. I want to go on that tour! Next time my history buff parents come to town, it's going to be first on the list.

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  3. Correction regarding the guide's name- I meant JT, not TJ.

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When someone dies, (other than attending the service), I do this for the family-