Timeless, colorful, and alive: such is a room designed by James T. Farmer III, interior designer, gardener, and all-around Southern gentleman. Farmer embraces the warmth of spirit and classically beautiful, seasonal lifestyle of the South, from generations of his close-knit family and his hometown of Perry, Georgia, and he brings it into his clients’ homes…

William Randolph Hearst’s cinematic castle straddles a craggy crest, shimmering in the sun or floating above the fog. Begun in 1919 and never completed, it is as enigmatic as him. A magnet for Hollywood headliners during the 1920s and 1930s, today about 750,000 visitors are attracted annually to the opulent extravagance of the extraordinary estate….

The Rev. Philip Lindsley came to Nashville in 1824 to rescue the struggling Cumberland College (now University of Nashville). What he brought with him was a great vision: to create “a center of learning and civilization in the midst of the Old Southwest.” He pictured a group of academics, similar to those depicted in Raphael’s…

When Ulysses S. Grant entered the president’s office in 1869, echoes of the Civil War tensions that he helped to resolve still reverberated in his mind—and in the nation at large. In response, he commissioned a set of paintings to represent the Union’s indivisibility and to symbolize the nation’s post-war recovery. “Liberty” by Constantino Brumidi is mounted…

It all began in an automotive repair shop in the hilly Northern California town of San Luis Obispo. Born into a family of tinkerers and mechanics, Rory Cooper had always been a curious young man and frequently looked over his parents’ shoulders as they addressed a myriad of mechanical problems at their automotive repair shop….

Timepieces that have appeared on the wrists—or in the pockets—of the commander in chief throughout the centuries tell us a lot about their sartorial style and character. George Washington Jean-Antoine Lépine Pocket Watch (Courtesy of National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors) In November 1778, Gouverneur Morris asked George Washington if he could get him…

“Lockett and the Devil’s Path” is the fourth in a series of historical fiction by author T.J. Johnston. But no worries if you haven’t read the other three; it’s just fine as a standalone. If you are a fan and have been anxiously waiting for the fourth, you won’t be disappointed as Mr. Johnston’s main…

It seems an odd name for a watch—Whiskey Espresso—until you discover that the elegant timepiece from Original Grain is actually made using wood from repurposed bourbon barrels. A recycled wood watch may already be a surprise, but the company, founded by brothers Ryan and Andrew Beltran, also plants a tree for each one sold. Not…

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison are names typically associated with America’s founding, but others deserving mention are cloaked in obscurity. One such man is Dr. Joseph Warren, a Massachusetts native and patriot who played an instrumental role in the drive for America’s independence. Warren was a respected physician in the 1760s. The son…

The parents of George Bird Grinnell (1849–1938) must have had great intuition when they gave him his middle name. Grinnell would become the father of American conservation with a particular affinity for ornithology―the study of birds. “Diary of the Washburn Expedition to the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers in the Year 1870” (1905). (Public Domain) Born…