Brushy Mountain State Prison - THE END OF THE LINE

  Way up in the hollows of Tennessee stands a large fortress named  Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary that opened  in 1896 and closed in 2009. It was a Maximum security prison that was one of the worst places you could land serving your sentence! It was called "THE END OF THE LINE"! 
  When it first opened IN 1896 it used prison labor to mine the local coal mines, if you didn't dig 2 tons a day you got strung up on a pole in the main yard and got whipped! Or you got strung up by your thumbs and put in THE HOLE,  a 8' X 6' totally dark cell in the basement where after a few days you would go blind from the darkness! Prisoners were housed four to a cell designed for two inmates. Two would be at the mine and two would be in their cell on a constance rotation. The prison was designed to hold 600 prisoners and at one time housed 1100 prisoners!
  Its most famous prisoner was  James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr., and one of the only ones to ever escape this place, notable inmates included Bryon Looper, who was convicted in 2000 for the murder of State Senator Tommy Burks and began serving his life sentence at Brushy Mountain. In the novel The Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Hannibal Lecter makes a deal in which he is to be transferred to the prison in exchange for information about the serial killer Buffalo Bill that would enable authorities to rescue his latest victim.
 It now is open to the public for tours and also has a moonshine bar and a nice café along with a few classic car shows and concerts in the Summer.
 Geni and I enjoyed walking around this prison, it takes two to three hours and we were lucky we hooked up with a old guard to explain to us the history of this dark place, and are very glad we did not spend time here!
                                      
                                                 

30 days IN THE HOLE



Outdoor Basketball court

Prison art in a cell

most famous prisoner



Shanks

THE HOLE

Outdoor court yard where James Earl Ray escaped over the wall 

Cell block

Cell Art



Artwork in Galley

Kitchen



Galley artwork

Galley artwork

counting the days!

Chapel

James Earl Ray's cell

The Impeachment of a President - ANDREW JOHNSON 1868

I guess its true that History repeats itself, Andrew Johnson the 17th president of the United States was the first president to be impeached in 1868. There were two more to follow President Nixon (resigned before official hearings) and of course there was President Clinton. Andrew Johnson was President Lincolns Vice President and became President when he was assassinated on April 14th 1865. He was a member of Democratic Party and President Lincoln was a member of the  Republican Party .
 link to explained the Articles of impeachment against  President Johnson.
LINK: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/impeachments/johnson.htm
Its really interesting reading and very similar to what is happening now with President Trump! President Trump is in many ways similar to President Johnson in his beliefs in the Constitution and how the government should be run.

Geni and I visited his homestead and museum in the beautiful town of Greenville, TN. He is also buried there in the National Cemetery.
LINK: https://www.nps.gov/anjo/index.htm
                                                                                

President Johnson's Museum

Our 17th President

His home in Greenville before President

His home in Greenville after he became President, his wife and family descendants lived here until 1956 and gave tours of the home, President Johnson died in 1875

National Cemetery