Nashville's Hermitage Hotel celebrates its historic role in women suffrage with high tea

What can happen over a cup of tea?

In a chronicle connecting women, a socio-political movement, an historic Nashville hotel and a transformative vote: empowerment.

Today’s dining adventure honors the centennial of woman suffrage, Tennessee’s pivotal vote, the drama as it unfolded in the Hermitage Hotel — aka The Third House of the Legislature — and, yes, the role of high tea.

In the historic hotel’s earliest years, women were not permitted in the Oak Bar. Their place was the Loggia, a sun-filled salon steps above the lobby (and now called the Veranda). Here, as in other parlors across the country, it was customary to socialize over tea. And, more: Such gatherings helped propel the suffrage movement. In May 1920, the Tennessee League of Women Voters was formed in the Loggia. As efforts to ratify the 19th Amendment accelerated, the afternoon tea became a campaign event.

By the summer of 1920, the entire hotel had become the hub for suffrage activism, headquartering both the suffragists and anti-suffragists: Our nation was one state/one vote away from the 36 needed for ratification. Would Tennessee be the one? It was a contentious fight that, as those for suffrage wore the yellow rose and those against donned the red, became known as “The War of the Roses.” On Aug. 18, 1920, in a climactic tie-breaking vote, the Tennessee State Legislature passed the bill. Women, at last, got the right to vote.

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High tea + history

Celebrating the centennial of Women’s Suffrage and their historic role in its success, The Hermitage Hotel has designed a special experience. You can partake in a 1920s-style high tea, served in the same locale, in similar refined fashion. And in the process, get a taste of history. Tennessee’s momentous vote ended an almost 100-year push for women’s voting rights to become the law of the land. Against the backdrop of the Hermitage Hotel, there were many fascinating characters, intrigues, confrontations and betrayals.

First, take your seat at your reserved table, draped in ivory damask and beautifully appointed. At each place setting, you have your own set of condiments for tea (lump white and brown sugars, honey, lemon and milk) and for scones (Devonshire cream, butter, blackberry jam). You’ll appreciate the care given to social distancing; tables are spaced at least 12 feet apart. Single-use menus are de rigueur: Your packet, designed in the hotel’s turn-of-the-last-century graphics, is yours as a souvenir.

Your server will present a box containing six different varieties of loose-leaf teas. Small farm-sourced by In Pursuit of Tea, the artisanal selection includes black teas — Darjeeling, Earl Grey, and cacao chai; Bhutanese green, and two caffeine-free herbals — chrysanthemum, from China, and linden, a honeyed floral tea from Greece. Make your choice and the staff will brew your personal pot to enjoy.

In creating the menu, executive chef Derek Brooks researched cookbooks of the era, in particular "The Woman Suffrage Cookbook," first published in 1886. More than recipes, this book served as an educational and fundraising tool for the movement.

He displays the assembly of open-face tea sandwiches and pastries on an elegant three-tiered serving tray. It’s a delicious assortment. You’ll relish the tarragon chicken salad and grapes garnished with fresh watercress on sourdough. A spoonful of house pepper jelly brightens the pimento cheese and Tennshootoe ham on brioche. Capping small corn cakes are folds of smoked salmon, crème fraiche and dill.

Light desserts are pleasing, too: slices of jelly roll, the delicate sponge cake filled with mixed berry cream; vanilla tea cake, its glaze flecked with gold, and coconut cookies, ideal for dunking, the recipe directly sourced from the vintage suffrage cookbook. In a separate basket are petite sweet and herbed scones to savor with spreads: cultured cream, butter and jam.

During the course of the afternoon, you’ll get the chance to interact with Anne Dallas Dudley, a prominent Nashvillian and suffragist, as played by actress Debbie Watts. A socialite, young wife and mother, Dudley became an eloquent and persuasive spokeswoman for the movement, both locally and nationally. She went on to become the first woman delegate at large at the 1920 Democratic National Convention.

Service, as ever, is skilled and professional. You’ll feel well cared for. Treat yourself to a suffrage cocktail: They’ve curated eight distinctive drinks, each named for one of the heroines (and, in one case, hero) who made a difference. And, who made history. Raise a glass and toast the courageous women who persisted for decades to make right, as Anne Dallas Dudley said, “a matter of simple justice.”

SUFFRAGE HIGH TEA

The Hermitage Hotel in the Veranda

231 Sixth Ave. N., Nashville

615-244-3121

High Tea: 2 p.m. Thursday-Saturday throughout August; cost is $60 ($35 for children) plus tax and service charge.

Special Yellow Rose Tea: Seatings at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Aug. 17; cost is $82 ($48 for children) plus tax and service charge.

Reservations: essential (make 48 hours in advance)

Parking: complimentary valet

COVID Notes: All staff wear masks and gloves; guests are asked to wear masks entering and moving about the hotel. Sanitizer stations are in abundance. Seating is at 50% capacity, and distanced at more than the 6-foot requirement. HVAC is specially filtered. The Hermitage Hotel partnered with Meharry Medical Collegein setting a gold standard for cleanliness and safe practices.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville's Hermitage Hotel marks role in women suffrage with high tea