The Oaks - Home of Booker T. Washington, Alabama, United States

5Allen S 5:00 PM Jan 10, 2020

So interesting
So many interesting things to do in Tuskegee. The Oaks tour is awesome and informative. Check the times at the door or at the G.W. Carver Museum. There is visitor parking right next door. Our guide was just great and very knowledgeable. We really enjoyed it.

5SeasonedALtraveler 5:00 PM Aug 13, 2014

Beautiful 1899 home; Unusual - and Free!
We rearranged our travel day to Tuskegee just so we didn't miss The Oaks. You have to be on a tour to visit it. They only have tours Tuesday-Saturday at 9, 10:30, 1, 2:30 and 4. Start at the George Washington Carver Museum on campus. The home was built of oak, harvested on campus; built by students, who also made the bricks on campus. Some of the unusual features are the hand-painted wide ceiling borders in several downstairs rooms that picture scenes from cities and countries Booker T. Washington and his wife visited (lighthouses of Norway, etc.) during their 1899 European visit. The walls are painted in the hues that George Washington Carver developed from pigments made from soil in the area. Much of the furniture was made by students. It has been decorated as it would have looked around 1905 when many wealthy men such as Carnegie and Rockefeller visited. Washington wanted the house to be a showcase of what the students were doing. The upstairs flooring is beautiful narrow strips of diagonally laid light oak with borders of intricate parquet. The house was designed by Robert R. Taylor, a graduate of MIT, who came south and designed many of the beautiful buildings on campus. Only the first floor is handicapped accessible. While on campus, visit the Carver Museum, also the beautiful statue of Washington in front of the Kellogg Center, and the contemporary chapel, which has no right angles. Be sure to see the stained glass window in the chapel's narthex which features titles of many Negro spirituals. TIP: call the NPS ranger number, 334-727-3200, to get up to date info on opening days and times. The website from nps is not accurate.