Book an overnight stay at Gallatin's Historic Stonewall home
One historic home in Gallatin now accepts overnight bookings through Airbnb, a digital homestay and experience marketplace.
Built in 1831 as a private residence, Historic Stonewall, located on Main Street in Gallatin, boasts a rich, local history and is within walking distance of The Square in downtown Gallatin.
The nearly 200-year-old, 5,600 sq. ft. home has passed through many hands, briefly housing a superintendent of Transmontania Academy, the founder of Franklin College in Donelson, a Presbyterian Church reverend and more.
Gifted by local historian and Sumner County Museum Founder John Garrott to the museum in 2015, the home became an event venue to host community weddings, concerts, festivals and more.
“This home specifically is very special to the Sumner County Museum because the museum’s founder, it was his home, he started the museum in 1975 and the running joke is he had collected so many pieces that his wife said, ‘You either need to get rid of them or do something with them’, so he opened a museum,” Sumner County Museum Director of Marketing and Events Jessica Borrelli said.
Though it’s been available for tours and events over the years, museum officials felt compelled to restore the home to its original state.
“(Garrott) was a collector of all things history and this was his house at the time of his passing (in 2017) and, so he left it as a gift to the museum," Borrelli said. "To this point it’s been used as an event venue and we’ve used it for museum events and fundraisers as well, but we had this opportunity to preserve the history and ultimately share the history and that was obviously very important to Mr. Garrott."
“He took his historical things that he had, and he made a museum out of it to share it with the community," she said. "And so, the heart behind that is now we have the opportunity to restore this beautiful piece of history within Gallatin and share it with the community, just like John had done with his pieces in the museum.”
More: Sumner historian John Garrott dies, leaves rich legacy
Only one original artifact remains to the home—a couch from the 1830s. The piece is displayed in the opening hallway amongst many other artifacts accurate to the period found throughout the other rooms including four bedrooms, four bathrooms, parlor, formal dining room and greenroom.
In anticipation of the home housing overnight guests, several recent restoration projects and modern amenities have been added in the last few months.
Carpet from the 1950s was replaced with like-original hardwood floors due in part to a generous community donation of about $10,000 and a matching grant from Gallatin Rotary Club – Noon for an additional $10,000.
“The community stepped in financially and labor of love and their time to make this project come to life,” she said.
“All of this has been gearing up with the intention of being able to have the home more restored to historical accuracy and also to have it be a comfortable living space for those guests who decide to come and stay overnight.”
More: Garrott recognized by state for historic preservation efforts
Other recent restoration projects the home has undergone include work on its HVAC units by local air conditioning contractor Derryberry's Heat & Air, a deep clean of the home and other updates to its modern amenities such as a washer and dryer, 50" HDTV, self-check-in with smart lock and more.
Proceeds from each stay will help cover major updates and routine expenses of maintaining the nearly 200-year-old home and property while preserving its historic integrity.
For more information, access to promotions and up-to-date information on the home, visit Sumner County Museum and Historic Stonewall on Facebook.
Overnight stays can be booked at airbnb.com. Museum member reservations are discounted.
Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@gannett.com or (615) 517-1285.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Book an overnight stay at Gallatin's Historic Stonewall home
