“The Trousdale family occupied the home for over 70 years”

Trousdale Place stands at 183 West Main Street in Gallatin, Tennessee. The Federal style brick mansion was built around 1813 by John H. Bowen, a local attorney who later served in Congress. In 1836 the property became the residence of William Trousdale, a military officer who served in four wars and later became the thirteenth governor of Tennessee. The Trousdale family lived in the house for more than seventy years. In 1900 the property was deeded to the United Daughters of the Confederacy and it has since been known as Trousdale Place. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and today operates as a museum that is open for tours by appointment.

William Trousdale married Mary Bugg in 1827. They had seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood. These children were Charles, Julius, Valeria, Maria Lousia, and Frances. Valeria married James Lafferty in 1854. Lafferty had served under William Trousdale during the Mexican American War. Valeria died in 1860 and left three children. Maria Lousia married Benjamin Franklin Allen and they had five children. Frances, known in the family as Fannie, married John Bell Peyton, the son of Congressman Balie Peyton. The Peyton home stood across the street from the Trousdale residence.

Charles Trousdale, known as Cappy, was the eldest son. In 1860 he married Catherine Odom. He lived in Gallatin where he worked as a businessman and he also served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In 1863 he was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga and lost a leg. Charles and Catherine had one child, a daughter named Kate, who was born in 1866. Catherine died within a month of Kate’s birth. Charles later sent Kate to school in New Orleans and later to France. Kate had a long association with William Allen but did not marry him until later in life. After Charles died in 1900 Kate built a house on Coles Ferry Pike called Langley Hall. The building was known locally as the largest frame house in the region and it remained standing until it was demolished in 1965.

Another son, Julius Trousdale, also served in the Confederate Army. He was wounded in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh. Afterward he served in the Quartermaster Corps in Knoxville. In 1864 he was captured and sent to Camp Chase. After the war he returned to Tennessee where he practiced law and served as a member of the Tennessee State Legislature. In 1880, at the age of forty, he married Annie Berry, who was twenty six years old. She was the daughter of William Wells Berry, a man credited with establishing the first pharmacy in Nashville.

Mary Bugg Trousdale died in 1880 and after her death Annie Berry Trousdale assumed responsibility for the household at Trousdale Place. Julius and Annie had one daughter named Mary, born in 1881 and named for her grandmother. Mary attended school in New York City. She returned home in 1899 and died of fever later that August. Julius died three weeks after her death.

When Charles Trousdale died in January 1900 Annie Berry Trousdale transferred ownership of the house to the Clark Chapter 13 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The property was intended to be preserved as a museum honoring soldiers who served in war.

Address: 183 West Main Street in Gallatin, Tennessee