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John Tyler: White House
built 643 days ago
While serving in Washington D.C., John Tyler purchased a 1,600 acre plantation along the James River , not far from where he had grown up. He christened the house Sherwood Forest since he considered himself "a political Robin Hood."
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Tyler's nomination was designed to balance the ticket. The Whigs thought it a shrewd idea to put a man who was a former Southern Democrat on their ballot to draw votes in the South. They did this knowing that Tyler's political principles were not supported by Harrison, Clay, or the Northern Whigs. Thus, when Harrison suddenly died in office, the surprised Whigs were faced with a man in the White House who opposed much of their program. Clay quickly set out to drive Tyler from the party and from the presidency. He wanted the presidency for himself in 1844.
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Sherwood Forest Plantation remains the longest frame house in America -- expanded to its present length of over 300 feet in 1845 when Tyler added a 68-foot ballroom catering to the popular dance of his time, the Virginia Reel. The grounds are 25 acres of terraced gardens and lawn based on the landscape designs of Andrew Jackson Downing of New York and include original outbuildings or dependencies. It is considered one of the most complete plantation yards left in America, dating from c. 1680.
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Tyler retired to his plantation in 1845. In February 1861 he returned to public life, chairing the peace convention called to attempt to avert civil war. After Virginia seceded, he served in the provisional Confederate Congress and was elected to its House of Representatives. Tyler died in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 18, 1862, before taking his seat.
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Tyler retied to Sherwood Forest, his estate were he lived quietly until the Civil War. In Feb 1861 he lead a peace mission to Washington looking for a compromise on the issue hat threaten the Union. In April, at a Virginia secession, Tyler voted in favor of Virginia leaving the Union. He won a seat in the Confederate House of Representatives, but he suffered a stroke and died Jan 18, 1862
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Tyler expanded the manor house by connecting his separate law office to the main house with a 68-foot-long ballroom. Completed in 1844, the home is three stories tall but only one room deep, with a façade that stretches 300 feet! It holds the distinction of being the longest frame house in America. This unique mansion has 24 rooms, seven sets of stairs, and 18 fireplaces.
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