Trousdale Place

Trousdale Place is the handsome home of Governor William Trousdale. Come tour the home proudly placed on the National Register of Historic Places and Tennessee Civil War Trails while also taking in the sights and shopping of downtown Gallatin. It is located two blocks west of the Gallatin, Tennessee Public Square.

This historic home was built circa 1813 by John H. Bowen, a local attorney and member of Congress. Bowen died in 1822, and Governor William Trousdale later acquired the house. The city of Gallatin was developed on part of the original North Carolina land grant #1 awarded to Captain James Trousdale, Governor Trousdale’s father, for his service in the Revolutionary War. In 1812, lots were sold to construct the jail, courthouse, and other Gallatin city buildings.

William Trousdale served in the Creek Indian War, the War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson at Pensacola and New Orleans, the Seminole War of 1836 in Florida, and later was made a brigadier general in the United States Army for his gallantry in the Mexican War. He was one of very few who served in four wars of the first half of the nineteenth century, and was known as "The War Horse of Sumner County."

Trousdale became a member of the Tennessee State Senate in 1835 and was elected Governor of Tennessee in 1849. He later served as United States Minister to Brazil from 1853 to 1856 during the Franklin Pierce administration. William Trousdale died at Trousdale Place in 1872, and his wife, Mary Ann Bugg Trousdale, continued to live there until her death a decade later, when the home passed to their son, Julius. Julius was a veteran of the Confederate Army and later speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Governor Trousdale's oldest son, Charles, accompanied his father as an aide when Governor Trousdale was appointed minister to Brazil. Charles became a lawyer and while serving in the Confederate States Army, he lost a leg at the Battle of Chickamauga. Both Julius and his only living child, Mary, died in 1899. In 1900, Annie Berry Trousdale, daughter-in-law of William Trousdale, deeded the home to the Clark Chapter #13 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to honor veterans of all wars, specifically the Civil War. At this point, the home became known as Trousdale Place.

In 1979, the Sumner County Museum Association was granted permission by Clark Chapter #13 UDC to build a museum on the property. Today, Trousdale Place is open for a variety of events and tour opportunities throughout the year. For more information, visit www.trousdaleplace.com!