Bolivar, Tennessee: Plantations, Ghost Stories, and Mexican Food.

Now there are a couple of things about Madame Owner that you may need to know since we have now come to a trip involving the Civil War, or as MO's husband likes to refer to it: The War of Northern Aggression. One is that her husband (who also answers to "The General" thanks to his new son-in-law) is a Civil War re-enactor and  is an expert on the Battle of Chickamauga, which he has written a book about, called Generation of Warriors. The second is that early in their marriage MO was a much better sport about visiting every battlefield in the south and a couple in the north and is over it in the most definite way. Any map with blue and red lines and talk of charges and flanks make her eyes glaze over.

But what she does care about, always, are people's stories. Her idea of history isn't what happened to an army but what happened to the people who made up that war machine and those around them. So while reading a plaque in the middle of a field about General So and So outmaneuvering General What's His Name leaves her bored, an antebellum home and stories about the family who lived there, their losses and loves, can perk her up better than a Starbucks hazelnut latte.

The General knows this of course, and so for a recent anniversary he found a lovely bed and breakfast in rural Tennessee that he thought MO would appreciate. Magnolia Manor sits in the little town of Bolivar (most famous for being the home of the state mental health center ) and was built in 1849 by Judge Austin Miller who was a prominent lawyer and banker. The architecture is Georgian and the house is listed on the National Historic Register and has been featured in National Geographic Magazine. It has found new notoriety for being a big hit with ghost hunters, something made clear when one of the owners, Tom, greeted MO and her husband at the door with his "Got Ghosts?" hat on.

Read more about their ghost tours HERE.

After finding their room and freshening up there was wine on the back porch with Tom and his wife Elaine who purchased the house and restored it in the eighties. They love to discuss the history of the house and tell stories of their encounters and the experiences guests have had that are hard to explain. Knowing that Madame's husband is a great lover of Civil War history Tom took him to the basement to show him a medical supply kit with connections to the Ames Plantation. They descended into the basement where the temperature was an easy twenty degrees cooler. MO took some pics just because it seemed like if there was anything spooky in this house it would be down there. She could not stop thinking what a great house this would be for a Halloween party.

The house was occupied during the war (in the south when they say "the war" they mean only the 1860s one) and used as headquarters by four Union Generals: Grant, Logan, Sherman, and McPherson. At dinner one night in the dining room Sherman made the comment that in his opinion all Southern women and children should be exterminated. Mrs. Miller left the room and was found crying on the back porch,  by General Grant who was infuriated and ordered Sherman to apologize, which he did. He was so angered by having to do so that he stormed out of the room and arriving at the bottom of the staircase drew his sword and whacked the bannister. The mark is still evident today. 

The rooms in this house have been lovingly restored by Elaine who spent years on the project. She did her homework researching original paint and wallpaper and collecting period furniture which gives the home a feeling of authenticity.  In the yard is the biggest, oldest magnolia MO had ever seen (likely the oldest in the state since it is recorded as being there when construction on the house was begun in 1844). It looked to MO like something from a child's story book.

For dinner MO and The General headed to a fairly new Mexican restaurant on Hwy. 64 called Los Portales. The actual address is 1700 W. Market Street but you can see the round building from the highway. It has a fresh and clean atmosphere and a menu with the usual Mexican fare but a few surprises. The General had mango shrimp with braised broccoli and rice. MO had what she always does when the waiter comes and she isn't ready, chicken fajitas. Everything was delicious. The fajitas were some of the best she's ever had but she ate nearly all of the broccoli off The General's plate. From the bar side they could hear live music that was so good that when they finished their meal, they took their margaritas and sat another whole hour listening to the couple who were singing. So if you are in Bolivar on Saturday night there is great food and wonderful live music at Los Polartes!

Update: Since writing this post I've learned the name of the musicians performing that night. Casting Our Pearls is made up of  Jim Zeigler and Vanessa Carrasco. Here's a link to their Facebook page. Check them out!

After an uneventful night (by this I mean no paranormal activities were reported) they awoke the next day and headed downstairs for a breakfast of coffee, juice, and eggs benedict and more conversation with their charming hosts before packing up and heading home. On the way out of town MO wanted a picture of the courthouse and movie theater. She imagined the stories of this town. She thought of it making its way back from reconstruction. She thought of it sending its sons off to WWII. She imagined it decked out for the 4th of July and Christmas. She imagined mothers in pillbox hats and fathers in skinny ties walking to church on chilly Sunday mornings. She could see the adults shaking their heads at cut offs and long hair and rock music. She thought how many other charming little towns like this there are all over the country...the world. She suddenly wanted to visit them all!

Isn't that just like her?

Happy Travels, Y'all!

Click HERE for the Hardeman County Visitor's Guide.