We had such a good time at the Historic Ramsey House in Knoxville TN. It was really nice to meet everyone who came out to the cookbook signing and the folks at the Ramsey House couldn’t have been nicer.
I had never even heard of the Ramsey House until Jim and I were invited to come for a cookbook signing. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but the old house is stunning.
Here’s a bit of history from the Ramsey House website.
Ramsey House was built in 1797 by Knoxville’s first builder, Thomas Hope, for Francis Alexander Ramsey. The home is constructed of Tennessee pink marble and blue limestone. It was known at that time as the finest home in Tennessee. The structure is significant for its original interior and exterior architectural features and its period decorative art collection.
The Ramsey Family was one of the first families to settle the Knoxville area. They played vital roles in developing civic, educational and cultural institutions. Colonel Francis A. Ramsey was one of the founding trustees of Blount College, now the University of Tennessee. One of his sons, Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey authored an early history of the state, The Annals of Tennessee. Another son, William B.A. Ramsey, was the first elected mayor of Knoxville and the Secretary of State for Tennessee.
The historic house was bought in 1952 by the A.P.T.A., along with one acre of land. Today, the site consists of 101.5 acres; a historic house restored and furnished to the period of Francis A. Ramsey’s occupancy (1797-1820) and a Visitor Center located in a beautiful country setting.
Historic Ramsey House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
After the signing we were able to tour the house. Hard to say what part was my favorite but it may have been the kitchen. Our tour guide, Misty, shared Ramsey had it built at a later date to please his wife who wanted a warmer place to enjoy within the house. During that time period slaves worked in the kitchen and had their quarters in a room above the kitchen.
Not all of the pieces are original to the house and Ramsey family, but are period appropriate. After he died his sons inherited it and then at a later time the house hold items were sold. Over the years several pieces have been donated back. Especially heart warming are a grouping of dolls and a sweet pair of shoes that were discovered during renovations.
Ramsey House can be used for weddings and other events. Information can be found on their website. Be sure to jump over to the site and poke around to learn more about the historic setting and to have a closer look at the beautiful place. If you ever have the opportunity to visit I know you’ll be glad you did!
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
I have Ramsey in my family history. I’ll have to investigate to see if there is a link.
I enjoyed the video. Your talk was great and the house tour very interesting.
I’m very fortunate to live in East Tennessee surrounded by historical places. Not only the Ramsey house but John Rice Irwin’s Museum of Appalachia!
What a beautiful place! I watched the video and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had never heard of the Ramsey House. Thanks for sharing it with us and if I were closer by, I would love to tour it. I know you and Matt enjoyed it and it was so nice to get to do a book signing there.
I was aware of the Ramsey house but have not been there. I’d like to go. The whole history of east TN intriques me. For one thing both mine and my wife’s family histories trace through there on their way west. In addition, East TN is so rich in history it contains representative features of the entire history of the country, whether physical or otherwise. I wish we lived there. A lot of other people wish they did also. We had just returned from Elizabethton, TN the week before Helene.
I had never heard of the Ramsey House until Tipper began to tell about it. I will never go to it, but in the past my wife and I have gone to some of the very old plantation homes along the coast of SC. I once like to do carpenter work, now my knees won’t let do very much. I am always amazed by the good precision quality of the work I have seen in these old homes. Most of it was done by primitive hand tools. Today we have about ever type of electric or battery powered tool for about anything you can image.
Norman, you asked about chestnuts, I think I am correct in saying there was a chestnut blight during the earlier part of the last century that killed most of the trees.
Well, Tipper, once again you share yet another history lesson with your fans! I love American history and one of my daughters and I often take a weekend to go somewhere interesting. I think this would do just fine!! It’s now on my list. Thank you for sharing it. May God bless you and all your fans, but may He especially bless Granny!!
So cool! Thanks for sharing this.♥️
I love American History. I watched your video of your Ramsey House visit and enjoyed it. The house is unique and beautiful along with the antiques. My family and I are going down that way next May so I’m going to try and stop there and visit. Thanks for the information.
I saw the video when you and Deer Hunter went to the Ramsey House. You gave such a wonderful talk and enjoyed the Q&A too. The guided tour by the host was wonderful. I forwarded the video to my niece who lives in the Knoxville area. I told her next time I come to visit we needed to go there. She enjoyed your video and agreed we would go visit the Ramsey House for sure.
Prayers continue for all the people who have survived the hurricane.
Seems like I’ve been through Knoxville 100’s of time going to Mother and Daddy’s down south and I never knew about the Ramsey House. My husband and I were history buffs and we both would have enjoyed touring that beautiful house. I did watch the video and the little stove in the old hearth was sure interesting plus the piece that they said toasted bread. I was a bit concerned for you when you ran into all that fog but Matt handled it well.
Looks like a beautiful property. I just love visiting such places and taking a walk through history. Thanks for sharing it with us.
chestnuts used to be more plentiful, what happened? God bless you friends, God bless Granny Wilson
I watched the video. Definitely a place I’d like to visit!
Absolutely just beautiful. I have never heard of the Historic Ramsey House. Thank you, Tipper, for this post. Awesome story of the Ramsey House to. Praying for Granny and the Wilson and Pressley families.
God bless everyone on this cold October morning.