Few presidents traveled as far — or as desperately — before reaching the White House. Andrew Johnson was born into poverty in Raleigh, North Carolina, the son of servants who worked at a local inn. He never attended school a single day in his life. At thirteen he was apprenticed to a tailor. At fifteen he ran away.
What followed was a wandering journey through the Carolinas and Alabama before Johnson settled, at eighteen, in the small East Tennessee town of Greeneville. It was there — behind a tailor's bench — that he taught himself to read, married Eliza McCardle, and began the political climb that would eventually carry him to the Senate, the Vice Presidency, and then, unexpectedly, to the White House after Lincoln's assassination.
Greeneville is the heart of the Johnson story. Four of his sites there are preserved by the National Park Service: the tailor shop where he worked, the early home where he and Eliza first lived, the magnificent Homestead that became his anchor for the rest of his life, and the national cemetery on the hillside where he is buried. Together they form one of the most complete presidential site experiences in the country.
Johnson was born into poverty in Raleigh, North Carolina, and spent his teenage years drifting south before crossing the mountains into Tennessee. His early life left virtually no built structures behind — but two sites remain worth seeking out.
Johnson was born on December 29, 1808, in a small kitchen outbuilding behind Casso's Inn, where his parents worked as servants. The original structure no longer stands on its birth site, but a building believed to be that outbuilding was relocated and now resides at Mordecai Historic Park — one of the oldest historic house museums in North Carolina. The cabin's authenticity has never been conclusively proven, but it remains the closest physical connection to his birth that exists anywhere.
Historian's Note: The park itself acknowledges that the building's provenance is unverified. Extensive research has neither proved nor disproved the cabin's authenticity. Worth visiting with that context in mind — the history of the debate is itself part of the story.
The lot where Casso's Inn once stood — and where Andrew Johnson was born in a rear kitchen outbuilding — is now marked by a state highway historical marker on Fayetteville Street, half a block from the North Carolina State Capitol. The inn itself and all associated structures are long gone, but the marker places visitors within feet of the precise location where the future 17th president entered the world. A second marker one block away at Morgan and Wilmington Streets adds additional context. The marker is amongst the city's skyscrapers and is easy to miss.
Greeneville is where Johnson became Johnson. He arrived at eighteen with little more than his tailor's tools, met and married Eliza McCardle, opened a shop, and never truly left. Four NPS-preserved sites in this small East Tennessee town form the most complete presidential site complex of any president you can visit in a single afternoon.
This is where it started. Johnson opened his tailor shop in Greeneville around 1827, and it was here — bent over a worktable — that he taught himself to read with Eliza's help and began to form his political opinions by listening to customers argue the issues of the day. The original shop structure has been preserved by the National Park Service and sits within the Visitor Center complex. It is spare, functional, and utterly human — a reminder that the 17th President of the United States was once a self-taught tailor who couldn't read.
The crown jewel of any Andrew Johnson pilgrimage. Johnson purchased and expanded this Federal-style brick home over decades, and it is where he returned after leaving Washington in 1869. Remarkably, approximately 85% of the home's furnishings are original — meaning the chairs, tables, books, and personal objects you see are the actual possessions of the Johnson family. Guided tours are limited to ten visitors and run several times daily; the intimacy of the small group makes it feel less like a museum and more like a genuine intrusion into someone's private life.
Johnson served in the U.S. House, as Governor of Tennessee, and in the Senate before Lincoln placed him on the 1864 ticket. His Washington years were spent in rented rooms and boarding houses — the transient life of a politician who always intended to go home to Greeneville.
Johnson occupied the White House from April 1865 — following Lincoln's assassination — through March 1869. His tenure there was defined by the bruising battle over Reconstruction, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1868 and his narrow acquittal in the Senate by a single vote. The executive mansion is open for tours arranged through your Congressional representative, typically booked 4–8 weeks in advance.
On the morning of April 15, 1865, Andrew Johnson was asleep in his room at the Kirkwood House Hotel when he was summoned. Abraham Lincoln had been shot at Ford's Theatre the night before. Johnson was sworn in as the 17th President of the United States in this hotel room at approximately 10:00 AM. The Kirkwood House was demolished in 1874. A historical marker near the site on Pennsylvania Avenue acknowledges what happened there.
Johnson died on July 31, 1875, at the Carter County farm of his daughter Mary, having suffered a stroke two days earlier. He was buried with a copy of the U.S. Constitution beneath his head, as he had requested. The gravesite in Greeneville is one of the most moving and undervisited presidential burial sites in the country.
On July 28, 1875, Andrew Johnson was visiting the Carter County farm of his youngest daughter, Mary Johnson Stover, when he suffered a severe stroke. He lingered for two days and died there on July 31 — the last of a trio of devastating strokes. He was sixty-six years old and had only recently completed a return to political life, having been elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee just months before his death. The farm sits in the hills outside Elizabethton, roughly thirty miles from Greeneville. The property is private, but the site itself carries enormous weight — this is where the last chapter closed.
Visitor Note: The farm at 1548 Blue Springs Road is private property and is not open to the public. A Tennessee Historical Commission highway marker (No. 1A 20) acknowledging Johnson's death nearby is located approximately one mile away at the intersection of State Highway 91 and Broad Street in Elizabethton — that marker is publicly accessible. Do not trespass on the farm property.
Johnson is buried on a wooded hillside on the outskirts of Greeneville, beneath a tall white marble shaft topped with an eagle. He requested that his body be wrapped in an American flag and that a copy of the Constitution be placed beneath his head — both requests were honored. His wife Eliza and several of his children are buried nearby. The cemetery is quiet, well-maintained, and rarely crowded. It is the proper conclusion to any Greeneville visit.
| Site | Location | Category | Status | Admission | Designation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birthplace Cabin | Raleigh, NC | Birthplace | Open | Paid | Raleigh Historic Landmark |
| Original Birthsite Marker | Raleigh, NC | Birthplace | Marker | Free | NC State Historical Marker |
| James Selby Tailor Shop | Raleigh, NC | Apprenticeship | Demolished | — | HMDB Marker |
| Carthage, NC Marker | Carthage, NC | Runaway Stop | Marker | Free | HMDB Marker |
| Andrew Johnson Tailor Shop | Greeneville, TN | Work / Trade | NPS | Free | NPS National Historic Site |
| Andrew Johnson Early Home | Greeneville, TN | Early Residence | NPS | Free | NPS National Historic Site |
| The Homestead | Greeneville, TN | Primary Home | NPS | Free · Tours | NPS National Historic Site |
| White House | Washington, D.C. | Presidency | Open | Free · Request req. | National Historic Landmark |
| Kirkwood House Hotel | Washington, D.C. | Swearing-In Site | Demolished | — | HMDB Marker |
| Andrew Johnson National Cemetery | Greeneville, TN | Burial Site | NPS | Free | NPS National Historic Site |
| Mary Stover Farm (Death Site) | Elizabethton, TN | Place of Death | Private | — | TN Historical Marker (~1 mi.) |