Mrs. Jackson had not been confined entirely, however, to her own family circles and the log Hermitage. After the victory at New Orleans she went south to join her husband. In the same year she accompanied him on a visit to Washington and to Virginia, and at all places she shared with him the honors showered upon him by an adoring populace. She accompanied him, too, when he went to Pensacola to assume the office of Governor of the Floridas, and from these trips returned laden with gifts and purchases which were somewhat out of place in the humble quarters to which they were brought. The time had come, obviously, for the building of a home more in keeping with the station of its master. Fortunately his financial status justified it. Otherwise the family would have undoubtedly remained in the log dwelling, for Andrew Jackson’s good sense and determination to live within his means far outweighed any personal vanity. He was solicitous, however, of Mrs. Jackson’s welfare, and was for her sake particularly interested in building a more suitable home. The new Hermitage was built for Rachel, upon the spot which she selected. Major Lewis, Parton says, suggested it be built upon another more elevated site, but that General Jackson said to him: “No, Major, Mrs. Jackson chose this spot, and she shall have her wish. I am going to build this house for her. I don’t expect to live in it myself.” General Jackson’s health at this period was even worse than usual—and he was seldom well. The one thought uppermost in his mind when the new house was built was the comfort of the one person whom he loved above all other things in the world. As houses go, the Hermitage of this period was by no means pretentious. It was a square-looking, home-like building, made of red bricks manufactured on the place by the slaves—spacious, comfortable, and liveable, but by no means elaborate. Many of the visitors who were thronging from all parts of the country to visit the “Hero of New Orleans” thought it a surprisingly simple abode for a man of such prominence. It was not, however, out of keeping with its local setting. Davidson County, according to the census of 1820, had a population of only 20,154 people. The section now known as Middle Tennessee was sparsely settled and still called “West Tennessee.”