A little more than a month and a half after the sale of the Hunter’s Hill property, Andrew Jackson purchased the Hermitage estate. On the twenty-third of August, 1804, he paid Nathaniel Hays $3,400 for the 425-acre tract, “with its appurtenances,” which was to become “The Hermitage.” This reference to appurtenances supports the statement made in later years by Mrs. James K. Polk, wife of the eleventh President of the United States, that the Hermitage of the log cabin period “was not the commodious country house so familiar to devout Democrats in pilgrimages of later years. It was a group of log houses in close proximity to each other. The principal one had been built for a block-house in the days of Indian alarms, afterwards used as a store and, about 1804, converted into a dwelling. It, like all block-houses, was two stories high. Near it were three smaller houses, one story high, with low attics. These were used as lodgings for members of the family or guests.” Aaron Burr was entertained in these log buildings when he made his famous visits to the Hermitage in 1805 and 1806, and it was to this humble home that General Jackson returned after the Battle of New Orleans (January 8, 1815), which had made him the Conquering Hero and idol of the nation. Sometime during 1818 the site of the brick mansion was selected and the square house which forms the central portion of the present building was erected. Diligent research by the leading Jackson students of the nation has failed to reveal the exact date or details of the construction of this building. It is generally agreed, however, that it was completed in 1819 and was occupied when President Monroe was a guest at the Hermitage in June, 1819. The Marquis de Lafayette was entertained in this building in 1825, and many other celebrities knew its hospitality. The simple, but commodious home was the center of the 1828 campaign which resulted in electing Andrew Jackson to the presidency of the United States. In 1831 wings and other improvements were added to the square brick building which had been erected in 1818-1819. At this time the present kitchen and smoke-house were built and the tomb in the garden was erected. Three years later—October 13, 1834—fire destroyed much of the interior and the roof of the building. The present dining-room wing, the kitchen, and out-houses were not burned, however. With the exception of a few large pieces on the second floor, all of the furniture, as well as General Jackson’s valuable papers, clothing, and gifts received after the victory at New Orleans, were saved.