User:KeysAMX/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Andrew Jackson ancestral homes are the former residences of Andrew and Elizabeth Jackson, parents of 7th President of the United States Andrew Jackson. Both sites are located in Carrickfergus, County Antrim and were home to the Jacksons before they emigrated to America in 1765.

Bellahill[edit]

The homestead of Andrew and Elizabeth Jackson was located north-east of the town of Carrickfergus, in the Bellahill townland close to Ballycarry. The ruins of the house still remain at the site (as of 2010) and Jackson descendents allegedly farmed in the area until well into the 20th century.[1][better source needed] They relocated to Boneybefore temporarily as they prepared to emigrate to the United States, where they lived in one of the thatched houses.

Boneybefore[edit]

The Andrew Jackson Centre
The front of the Andrew Jackson Cottage

The Andrew Jackson Centre, also known as the Andrew Jackson Cottage, is known as the ancestral home of Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States. It is located in the village of Boneybefore in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

The centre consists of a refurbished traditional thatched Ulster–Scots farmhouse, which is known to have been built in the 1750s and was home to Andrew Jackson's parents shortly before they emigrated to South Carolina in the United States.[2] The interior of the farmhouse is effectively a small museum, consisting of original rooms decorated in the style of that period and featuring an extensive display on the life of Andrew Jackson.

The cottage's grounds feature the US Rangers Centre, which pays homage to the soldiers of the First Battalions of the elite US Rangers, which was first "activated" in neighbouring town Carrickfergus in 1942.[2]

Carrickfergus Borough Council has made recent efforts to make the centre more accessible to tourists. These include the installation of new information plaques in the recent standardised style of those found elsewhere in Carrickfergus, as well as the installation of roadsigns that more clearly show its location. These recent changes were put in place in an attempt to promote the town's historical Ulster-Scots connection to the United States, a connection that many locals take a great deal of pride in.

According to the Discover Northern Ireland website, the Andrew Jackson Centre only opens by appointment and usually caters for school trips.

References[edit]

External links[edit]