President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library

About Us:

Completed in 1841, Old College is the second oldest building on the Tusculum College campus. It is one of ten structures on campus listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1835, Rev. Samuel Witherspoon Doak constructed a two room academic building (pictured above, circa 1900) directly across the wagon road from his home. This was the second such structure Rev. Doak had built on his property to house his growing Tusculum Academy.  By 1840, Tusculum Academy, having continued to prosper, increased its enrollment to 70 students effectively outgrowing the small academy building. Rev. Doak decided it was time to build a third and more substantial building to house his growing school.

Several hundred citizens, from as far away as Philadelphia and Baltimore, including state legislator Andrew Johnson, subscribed a total of $4,245.62 in cash and in-kind for the construction and equipping of the new building. The building contained space for a chapel, classrooms, an assembly room, the library, two literary societies, and the President's Office. The first classes were held on the first Wednesday in October 1841.