You can imagine me trying to picture my great aunt doing this, haha! In 1790, John Hipkins purchased the property from the Conway family and in 1791 built Belle Grove for his only child, Fannie. However, the pamphlet continues by claiming that, characteristics of Jeffersonian Classicism are exhibited at Belle Mont, including finely executed brickwork with contrasting woodwork and a hilltop setting. It was then purchased by two women who in 1890 started a college which evolved into Belmont University. Belmont Mansion, or Belle Monte as it was known in the 19th century, was not a plantation but still relied on a large number of enslaved workers to maintain the estate. Belle Mont attracts approximately 5,000 visitors each year. Indeed, it is the Christian character of America that has allowed us to recognize and seek to rectify our past errors. Founded in 2008, AlabamaHauntedHouses.com is a simple and unique online haunted event & attraction resource created to make it easy for locals to find Haunted House, Spook Walk, Corn Maze, and other Halloween Attractions in their local area. Advertised as an event where people can experience the "hospitality of the Old South", "A Plantation Christmas" was held at the Belle Mont Mansion on Sunday evening. It once stretched over 5400 acres and hosted celebrities, presidents, and countless southern gentlemen. It was built by Joseph and Adelicia Acklen to serve as the center of their 180-acre summer estate in what was then country outside the city, and featured elaborate gardens and a zoo. The house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. Belle Mont Mansion Tuscumbia, Alabama 65.4 miles from Tupelo, MS. A former slave plantation, it is believed to be haunted by slaves that lived and died here and also possibly by the ghosts of its former owners. Stay safe. Black people dont have happy memories of the antebellum period and plantations, where our ancestors were beaten and tortured, said senior campaign director Jade Magnus Ogunnaike. Surely, we do not want to pretend these places dont have a violent, racist past. Dr. Mitchell and his family of seven were already living in Belle Mont when it was fully completed in 1832. I came out of the cellar and saw Ronnie sitting in my truck, so I asked if he had came into the cellar, he told me no. Protest movements that perceive victimization and microaggression under every rock also wreak havoc on our countrys economy. Some visitors say that the building . Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. Even though it is now just 24 acres, many of the important elements remain. Four bedrooms surround the rear or south courtyard, forming its U-shaped brick exterior. Beyond Jesus Revolution: 10 Outside-The-Box Faith-Based Films On The Horizon, Major Doctors Organization Publicly Embraces Dismembering Babies Until Birth, Congress Quietly Left The Door Open To Funneling More Tax Dollars To EcoHealth Research In China For National Security, Utah Considers Ranked-Choice Voting In Primaries Despite Disasters In Alaska And Maine. I dont know any ghost stories but my mother tells a few funny stories. Most Americans know that George Washington owned enslaved people at his Mount Vernon home. Ticket options include: General Admission, Guided Tour, Curator Tour & Civil War at Belmont, Discover the largest house built in Tennesse. Sold by the Acklen family in 1887, the house went to a developer who began one of Nashvilles early suburbs. Is it possible that Dr. Mitchell built Belle Mont in this style, two years after Jeffersons death, to honor the late president? Visiting here is an opportunity to explore one of the few 1850s era homes still standing in Nashville while learning about the place and the people -- both free and enslaved -- who make this site worth understanding. Admission: Adults $6; students, seniors, military $5; and children 6-18 $3. It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander, and one would have to be a clinical narcissist to think future generations wont find us at fault for any number of things. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Although the actual design of Belle Mont is a mystery, this particular relationship provides a clue about the original designer, or at least his influence. No haunted tours for me. Catholics in the 19th century suffered violent assaults at the hands of anti-papist mobs on the streets of Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. The house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. The first slaves arrived to Belle Meade in 1807, and as decades rolled on, the number of slaves tripled to 136 of by 1860 based on the 1860 census record. The organization behind this growing movement, Color of Change, indicts vendors for using words like breathtaking to describe plantations. Gradually, the family gatherings became less frequent until the home was completely abandoned.The abandonment of the home was the largest cause of its deterioration and the vandalism that occurred at Belle Mont. Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale. Isaac Winston owned 114 slaves according to the 1860 census and died August 13, 1863 at Bell Mont during the American Civil War. The property is located just south of Tuscumbia and west of US Route 43 at 1569 Cook Lane. As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. The abandonment of the home was the largest cause of its deterioration and the vandalism that occurred at Belle Mont. Intimate and elegant elopement ceremonies are popular at Belmont Mansion! At Belmont, several extended families lived in slavery over the course of several generations. Went back into the cellar a coupple more times, but never had that akward feeling again. Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. Moreover, the entire country was once the land of American Indians, and a good deal of it deceptively or violently taken from them. Over the years, this historic mansion has been restored to its original pre-Civil War appearance. Disclaimer: Alabama Haunted Houses does not endorse or support trespassing to visit real haunts. Belle Mont's out-buildings are no longer standing, but several foundations, including that of a slave house, have been located by archeologists. Indeed, I wonder how many black Americans even have a deceased grandparent who could have had a memory of antebellum America. Belle Mont was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. This design is derived from the neoclassical architectural style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The answer will always be a mystery. Three years later, during the middle of the. Belle Mont's out-buildings are no longer standing, but several foundations, including that of a slave house, have been located by archeologists. The property is also available for tours Thursday through Sunday and for special event rentals. The voices in the night are the hardest to explain away. By the following year, in 1890, all the houses occupied by enslaved Blacks on the estate had been destroyed, leaving no physical presence for interpretation. Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. At first you think this is all in your imagination. Visitors to the mansion have reported seeing dark shadowy figures walking the fields and have heard the sound of chains rattling near the house.http://bellemont.weebly.com/history.htmlhttp://www.mystery411.com/Landing_bellemonttuscumbia.html. At this time, the family decided to move to a different location but continued to hold Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations in the mansion. Owned by the Alabama Historical Commission and operated by the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. This area of the property can be accessed from the master bedroom through a large door with a window that leads directly to the courtyard area, which is where the detached kitchen would have been accessed as well.The Mitchell family sold Belle Mont and 33 of the surrounding acres to their friends Isaac and Catherine Baker Jones Winston, who were also from Virginia, in 1833. Affordable Nashville Elopements start here! It's currently operated as a museum, and tours are available. It has a staff of three: a site director, curator, and tour guide. Stories of the Past - Conversations for the Future. When i was 17 years old, Belle Mont Plantation house was in very bad shape and had not had any restoration done to it yet. Jonece Starr Dunigan | jdunigan@reckonmedia.com, hired a black historian to research the site's enslavement history, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Administrative use only. I contacted the historic society to find out about the planned restoration project that I had heard about, and asked if I could assist as part of my Eagle Scout project in the Boy Scouts. What Todays Cultural Marxists Would Be Wise To Learn From Martin Luther King Jr. All of these places, despite their histories, are objectively beautiful. In 1983, concerned about the condition of the house, members of the Winston family donated Belle Mont and 33 surrounding acres to the Alabama Historical Commission.The house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. The Alabama Historical Commission owns this historic site. He was also a founding member of a Presbyterian church in Tuscumbia and among the area's largest owners of, Throughout the antebellum period, Isaac Winston operated Belle Mont as a cotton plantation, and the 1860 Census lists him as the owner of 114 enslaved African Americans. Discover the largest house built in Tennessee prior to the Civil War. Slavery Plantation Agriculture Robert J. Vejnar, Kennesaw State University Dogtrot Cabin at Belle Mont Plantation Plantation agriculture was a form of large-scale farming that was most prevalent during the colonial and antebellum periods of American history. I was amazed at the huge floor joist under the house, then I had that feeling someone had walked up behind me, I thought it was Ronnie, at that time I noticed some graffiti that had been put there, and asked Ronnie what he thought about, but when I turned around, Iwas there by myself. Their appetites will not be satisfied until all things and persons associated with injustice, real or imagined, are expunged from public experience and memory. The Knot, WeddingWire, and Pinterest are seeking to limit content on their websites that promotes Southern plantations as a wedding venue. I havent asked in years the last I remember I think I may have heard it was being restored but privately owned and with no plans to open to the public. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. Belle Meade plantation is one of the premier plantations in Tennessee and one of the top attractions in the state. Open Letter Plantation Christmas by Jonece on Scribd. Records of the property's destruction includes information related to the number of slave dwellings on the property. Casey Chalk is a senior contributor at The Federalist and an editor and columnist at The New Oxford Review. Owning 1,680 acres of cotton and corn, Dr. Mitchell became known as one of the largest planters in the area before he quickly sold the mansion and the surrounding land one year after its completion. Its two-story north entrance salon is flanked on either side by a formal dining room and parlor. Very little historic data, including census records, include last names of those who were enslaved, making it challenging to locate descendents through geneaology records. Things seem to be at their worst after midnight, until early dawn. I know someone who used to volunteer at Belle Mont, which is open for tours, and she said the house was definitely haunted by a woman, possibility a former mistress or daughter who once lived in the house. 2008-2023 AlabamaHauntedHouses.com. Visit BelmontMansionEvents.com to review options to Elope in Nashville at Belmont Mansion.
The architecture of Belmont Mansion makes it one of the most significant homes of 19th century Tennessee. Just one if many weird, cant explain it things that have happened here. This celebration clearly ignores the perspective of those who experienced Belle Mont as a forced labor camp., Slavery hard to teach in Cotton State of Alabama, elementary educators say. Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray, Georgia Senate Passes Bill To Close Sneaky 'Zuckbucks 2.0' Loopholes, 3 Things Anti-America Agitator Angela Davis Can Learn From Her Pilgrim Ancestors, Just Like Real Socialism, Real Feudalism Has Never Been Tried, Amid Personal Loss, Washington And Lincoln Became Fathers Of Their Country. I grew up in Florence and my Great Grandmother lived near the mansion on Colbert Heights mountain. Many of them, even their detractors must admit, are beautiful, both in reference to their natural surroundings and their architecture. Then they could celebrate their wedding reception at a Southern manor and have a hell of a good time. But she never mentioned any slave ghosts. All rights reserved. I mention this because Gay Mont was his home. Today the Belmont Mansion Association, which was formed in 1972, owns the collection, runs the museum, and shares this unique story of 19th century Nashville with visitors from far and near. Come to Belle Mont to learn more about Palladian architecture and to see first-hand the tantalizing clues suggesting the direct influence of Thomas Jefferson himself. "It is unacceptable to subject the descendants of enslaved African Americans to whitewashed versions of history that ignore their ancestors experience.". Me and a group of Freinds went out there one night and we first get there we get out the car and walking up the hill to the house and I get a snapchat (popular app used by teens) from someone I dont even got added and he said Im behind you then he sent another one and said I know where you are and I sent a snap and said where am I the. Shes told me that prior to the restorations the mansion was a prime site for local teens to be dumb kids trespass, vandalize, etc. This is not a good thing. Built between 1828 and 1832 in the Jeffersonian style, Belle Mont was originally the home of Dr. Alexander Mitchell, who quickly sold the building to one Isaac Winston in 1833. At this time, the family decided to move to a different location but continued to hold Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations in the mansion. 68 were here. Its also not as if Dixie estates were the only sites where acts of brutality were committed by one group of Americans against another. All submissions made to The National Paranormal Society, for the purposes of data analysis, article or editorial publication, team, individual or service listing, or any other submission category not listed become the property of the NPS. Yes, its true that some historical artifacts across Americas landscape are honored in ways that belittle or demean our fellow countrymen. These families included the Baker and Snowden families, among others. The site is 1/4 mile west of US 43 South on Cook Lane, three miles south of intersection US 43 and US 72. Before you visit ANY local real haunt, make sure to acquire the appropriate permits and/or permissions, and be respectful of privately owned properties. I have lived here since 1963. Be specific. The letter was also sent to Ninon Parker, who is listed as a site director for the Belle Mont Mansion. The use of the NPS name for any unauthorized events or activities is strictly prohibited. The Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. Required fields are marked *. Let us know! This was just word of mouth and may not have been accurate, but Im glad to hear it can be toured. She said he would come out shooting if he caught trespassers. Private property should be respected at all times, as should all posted signs concerning trespassing, hours of operation and other local regulations. The Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. Have a haunt/halloween related news story or a tip? The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). Simply by virtue of ones social justice warrior credentials and alleged victimhood status, these people deputize themselves the cultural police of our history, our language, and now apparently our wedding venues. The answer will always be a mystery. The schooner Clotilda smuggled African captives into the U.S. in 1860, more than 50 years after importing slaves was outlawed. Unlock premium content, ad-free browsing, and access to comments for just $4/month. Is it not appropriate to celebrate momentous occasions in beautiful places? This is not to say there isnt something a bit discomforting about vendors labeling slave cabins on these properties as evoking an elaborate past, as if blacks were happy, willing participants in a fanciful world of white gentry as portrayed in Gone with the Wind. All the same, targeting Southern wedding venues for bigotry reflects yet another manifestation of a purification of our culture and history. One was a bluish light, the other one looked golden. Is it possible that Dr. Mitchell built Belle Mont in this style, two years after Jeffersons death, to honor the late president? Nanyehi was among the first Cherokee to own African-American slaves. Nor do the sins of our forefathers nullify their many acts of virtue or the great political and cultural gifts they bestowed upon future generations. Contact the museum for current rates, policies, and an application. Wesley Thompson of Bethel Colbert Missionary Baptists Church also signed the letter. Haunted Vacations, Adventures and Mysteries. 1569 Cook Lane, Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674 View Map CONTACT Site Director: Ninon Parker Museum: 256- 381-5052 Email: bellemontmansion@gmail.com Peace to everyone. As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. Tickets may also be purchased by credit card by calling the museum at 256-381-5052 or online . This 1860 census, also called a Slave Schedule, provides a limited picture of all who were living at Belmont and where they lived. Belle Mont isnt included in either of Kathryn Tucker Windhams books about Alabama ghosts. Belle Mont Mansion , built circa 1828, is one of the few examples of Palladian-style houses in Alabama. It was then purchased by two women who in 1890 started a college which evolved into Belmont University. As of Thursday morning, Alabama Historical Commission members have not responded to the letter or AL.coms emails and phone calls. Dr. Mitchell and his family of seven were already living in Belle Mont when it was fully completed in 1832. According to census records, Mitchell enslaved 115 people at the cotton plantation. === A monument was errected in 2008 on the old Henry Courthouse square in Martinsville, VA. . Plantations represent none of those things, declared a Pinterest spokesman, calling the glamorization of these estates a disrespectful practice. Pinterest visitors who search for plantation weddings or similar terms will now be warned that some results may violate the sites policies, de facto making plantations the equivalent of pornography. Use of the directory is at the discretion of the individual. Belle Mont also illustrates Jeffersons reverence for the neoclassical architectural elements and ideas of the Italian Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio,The Winston family maintained ownership and continued living in Belle Mont through the Civil War and until around 1940. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. A majority of rooms in Belmont Mansion have been meticulously restored. The Winston family maintained ownership and continued living in Belle Mont through the Civil War and until around 1940. I dont think only certain places are as haunted, as the belief that there are paranormal things happening all around us everywhere, and just certain people are allowed to witness these things at certain times. Clicks to Website: 293
Her aunt, who was only a few years older than her, got busted sneaking in/vandalizing the mansion. All rights reserved (About Us). It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. Belmont Mansion, or Belle Monte as it was known in the 19th century, was not a plantation but still relied on a large number of enslaved workers to maintain the estate. The other residents seem to tolerate it OK, but I hate it. The property is located just south of Tuscumbia and west of US Route 43 at 1569 Cook Lane. Being new to the area, none of us knew of the Belmont Mansion or its location. So I like have some family history about the mansion and my aunt found a man and fell in love with him and they both LOVE history and so they both had there wedding at the Belle mont mansion and I was the flower girl and I havent seen the upstairs of the mansion so Im not sure if it really is haunted I really want to find out more the reason why I started searching this up was bc my great aunt works at my school library and she started talking about it and reading us storys about it. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Voice your opinion here! Is this place really haunted? The property remained in the family until 1941 and in 1983 the house and 35 acres was donated to the State of Alabama by the Fennel family. 2023 The Federalist, A wholly independent division of FDRLST Media. This style stems from the neoclassical architectural design of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation, Inc. is the support group in charge of operating the site. View all AHC Owned Historic Houses & Museums. Violence against blacks and other disenfranchised groups have occurred across our nation's landscape, many in popular and well-trod locales, North and South, East and West. For more information, click here. Belle Mont Mansion | Tuscumbia AL Not sure if it did or not but sure does fit. And have seen shadows and once a figure of a person. If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know! However, the pamphlet continues by claiming that, characteristics of Jeffersonian Classicism are exhibited at Belle Mont, including finely executed brickwork with contrasting woodwork and a hilltop setting. In each society and in each generation slaves adjusted and . Doors open and close. Tell Us About Your Experience(s) at Belle Mont. 3. The source of Belle Monts design is shrouded in mystery, but tantalizing clues suggest the direct influence of President Thomas Jefferson, gentlemen architect of the early Republic, the official Belle Mont pamphlet states (Commission 2). Plantation Christmas at Belle Mont is held annually the first Sunday in December and features period costumed interpreters, decorations, refreshments, and entertainment. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. Belle Mont was built for Alexander Williams Mitchell, who grew up in Louisa County, Virginia, only 25 miles from Jefferson's home at Monticello. The Conway family purchased the property in 1670 and it remained in the family for 120 years. Its just really weird that we both saw this happen at the exact same time. Gift Shop (111 S. Main St., Tuscumbia). However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. It is best to play gospel or Christian radio in your house 24/7 to make them move on. Slaves in the plantation generations were members of what Berlin calls "slave societies," where slavery was the primary source of labor. He was not buried on the property as many legends say but in the Winston Family Cemetery in Tuscumbia as was his wife Catherine who died July 25, 1884. My son says, Yes, hes walking to the house. Having passed the sign and turn to the house, I realized there is no way he could have known of the house based on his not being able to read and having no pre-exposure to the houses existence. Chronological snobbery, as C.S. Built between 1828 and 1832 in the Jeffersonian style, Belle Mont was originally the home of Dr. Alexander Mitchell, who quickly sold the building to one Isaac Winston in 1833. During the 1960s, star-crossed lovers camped inside the rotting mansion in the woods, and the home has long been the site of drunken high school parties. The tell when I was growing up was that the book 13 Alabama Ghosts held a tell from that house. complete with original and period furniture, artwork and statuary. e prior to the Civil War. Id suggest a far better solution for prospective newlyweds, regardless of race or ethnicity, would be to get married where they should: in a church. In. We might also remember that many of the most celebrated and visited historical sites in our country are Southern manors built and worked by slaves: Mount Vernon (itself a wedding venue), Monticello (another wedding venue), and Montpelier (also a wedding venue) among them. Then he didnt snap back and unadded me and my Freinds girlfriend said a woman followed us back to the car and as soon as we pulled out a car came out of no where like we seen no headlights the whole time and we get home And another Freind of mine gets a text and said we know you was here no trespassing and Said I had a picture taker (dont really know what that means) and he had a drink and a bag of chips and he threw it down and they said we found your snack. It has a staff of three: a site director, curator, and tour guide. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Belle Mont, built between 1828 and 1832, was a plantation that used slave labor. Related Videos Video #1 Will we need Google to warn us that searching for such places or even worse, planning a vacation to visit them are microaggressive acts, as if we are unable to contemplate both the good and bad of such places? The Miracle Worker organ. Yet self-righteous assaults on these places and the many ways they are used will not bring restorative justice. The only way to avoid offending anyone would be to stop celebrating anything, anywhere, at any time. For some reason a lot of places in Tuscumbia AL are haunted. Beginning in 1889, the basement of Belmont, which served as the main workspace for many enslaved persons, was significantly remodeled with no care given to historic preservation. A mural of the Clotilda adorns a concrete embankment in Africatown, a community near Mobile founded by Africans illegally transported to Alabama aboard the slave ship. All rights reserved. Officials from multiple wedding-planning websites recently announced they are either no longer advertising plantation wedding venues or making those venues harder to find on their websites. Magnificently sited on a commanding hilltop, Belle Mont is one of early Alabama's crowning architectural achievements.. Mitchell became known as one of the largest planters in the area before he quickly sold the mansion and the surrounding land one year after its completion. Not-So-Scary Haunted Houses (Kid Friendly). Your CommentsHave a photograph taken from this location? Join now to unlock comments, browse ad-free, and access exclusive content from your favorite FDRLST writers.