belle mont mansion slaves belle mont mansion slaves

The house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. He is the author of The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands. Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. Montvale, the farm at Belmont, was destroyed in 1864. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). But fewer probably know that it . 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale. 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. Contact the museum for current rates, policies, and an application. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. 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. Have a haunt/halloween related news story or a tip? It has a staff of three: a site director, curator, and tour guide. It has been referred to as the Isaac Winston House and is listed as Belmont in the National Register of Historic Places and as the Henry B. Thornton Plantation House in the Historic American Buildings Survey. Just outside the city of Tuscumbia, the 700+ acre Cane Creek Canyon Nature . Belle Meade plantation is one of the premier plantations in Tennessee and one of the top attractions in the state. Many "ghost hunters" have been arrested because they failed to contact property owners and/or local authorities ahead of time. You can imagine me trying to picture my great aunt doing this, haha! Plantations used for bourgeois ceremonies with language that obscures or even glorifies the estates dark past are one example. Marble bust of Helen Keller. All rights reserved. The answer will always be a mystery. It also reflects the vulnerability of American businesses to the whims of leftist protest movements. Casey Chalk is a senior contributor at The Federalist and an editor and columnist at The New Oxford Review. All of these places, despite their histories, are objectively beautiful. Belle Mont Mansion has resumed normal operating hours and will be operating at reduced capacity to safeguard against COVID-19. This mansion is believed to have been influenced by Palladian style architecture for which Thomas Jefferson is known. All information on this page was submitted to Alabama Haunted Houses and was believed to be accurate at the time it was posted. The organization behind this growing movement, Color of Change, indicts vendors for using words like breathtaking to describe plantations. 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). Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. Your CommentsHave a photograph taken from this location? This was just word of mouth and may not have been accurate, but Im glad to hear it can be toured. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. How many of the great nations of human history have so actively beat their breasts over their sins, both against their own citizens and the peoples of the world? Her eyes, big as saucers, alarm me. The National Paranormal Society is not responsible for individuals, teams and submissions listed on the NPS website. The article included a large photo of an interior shot of the mansion with my great aunts name first and last blazoned across the room in graffiti! Last edit to this listing: 1/16/2016 (2604 days ago). The Winston family maintained ownership and continued living in Belle Mont through the Civil War and until around 1940. If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know! My wife and I went to the mansion and learned of its peculiarities from the informative guide person. 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. Visitors to the mansion have reported seeing dark shadowy figures walking the fields and have heard the sound of chains rattling near the house. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. This is not a good thing. An example of this occurred in December, when a number of black medical students posed for a photo at a former slave plantation, a site some of them called holy. Heck, why not celebrate their graduation there? In 1833, the property was bought by Issac Williams, who owned 119 enslaved people by 1855. 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. 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. Haunted Vacations, Adventures and Mysteries. Isaac Winston owned 114 slaves according to the 1860 census and died August 13, 1863 at Bell Mont during the American Civil War. However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. At the time, the name of the plantation was not Gay Mont, but Rose Hill. The Belle Mont Mansion was constructed from 1828-1832. Belle Mont Mansion | Tuscumbia AL 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. 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 Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. Stories of the Past - Conversations for the Future. Marble bust of Helen Keller. 3. Belle Mont was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. Belle Mont is available for special events. Sold by the Acklen family in 1887, the house went to a developer who began one of Nashvilles early suburbs. I remember her sounding really flippant about it and me wondering how being shot at was not a big deal! It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Belle Mont Mansion , built circa 1828, is one of the few examples of Palladian-style houses in Alabama. 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. Records of the property's destruction includes information related to the number of slave dwellings on the property. Positioned on a commanding hilltop, Belle Mont Mansion is one of Alabama's crowning architectural achievements. Tell Us About Your Experience(s) at Belle Mont. The coalition said the event celebrated white supremacy by ignoring the enslaved people who labored at the cotton plantation. 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.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). The voices in the night are the hardest to explain away. The abandonment of the home was the largest cause of its deterioration and the vandalism that occurred at Belle Mont. Lewis called our tendency to view our own age as superior to others, is a dark chasm ending in our own destruction. No profanity. Do not use all capital letters. "The celebration of a 'Plantation Christmas' represents a willful ignorance of the experience of enslaved people and a concocted memory of a joyous, white supremacist Christmas celebration," the letter said. 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. 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. 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. 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. The site originally served as the centerpiece for the large scale cotton. However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. Belle Mont Mansion By Ken Weigandin Ashley Ann Lewis, Haunted Locations Belle Mont was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. 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. 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. Belle Mont Mansion, known for its architecture, was built in 1828 for Alexander Williams Mitchell. The Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. The use of the NPS name for any unauthorized events or activities is strictly prohibited. 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. These families included the Baker and Snowden families, among others. It has a staff of three: a site director, curator, and tour guide. For more information, click here. Three years later, during the middle of the. Then you maybe talk to family members and realize everyone feels the same way. He says, the man that lives in that house. still pointing. If such locales have tragic histories, this is all the more reason to reimagine them in ways that both recognize and overcome that past. What do you think? Home > Historical Buildings > Belle Mont Mansion 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. My Dad bought it at that time. n 1832. Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Please report any inaccuracies. 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. Please note: It is your responsibility to acquire appropriate permissions before investigating any location listed on this site. Strange are there actually any African Americans who have memories of the antebellum period, given that it ended 160 years ago? Belle Mont was built for Alexander Williams Mitchell, who grew up in Louisa County, Virginia, only 25 miles from Jefferson's home at Monticello. 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. 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. If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know! Countless Haunt Hunters have been arrested, ticketed, and reprimanded by the authorities for trespassing. Chronological snobbery, as C.S. Shes told me that prior to the restorations the mansion was a prime site for local teens to be dumb kids trespass, vandalize, etc. The modern application of this practice is also redolent of any of those ancient heresies that are uncomfortable with the complicated reality that vice and virtue, spiritual and material, co-exist within the human experience. It is best to play gospel or Christian radio in your house 24/7 to make them move on. 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. You feel things passing by you. Belle Mont isnt included in either of Kathryn Tucker Windhams books about Alabama ghosts. 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 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. The letter was signed by social justice groups Project Say Something, Standing in Power, of Decatur, and Beyond the Women's March. 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. Nearby, an early 1800s mansion, Belle Mont, is available for touring. 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. Belle Mont also illustrates Jeffersons reverence for the neoclassical architectural elements and ideas of the Italian Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio," (Commission 2). Affordable Nashville Elopements start here! According to the Times Daily, the event, which has been a holiday tradition in the Muscle Shoals area for over 30 years, offered vintage ballroom dancing, food and tour guides dressed in Antebellum garb. e prior to the Civil War. But she never mentioned any slave ghosts. It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. What county in Alabama had the most slaves? Her aunt, who was only a few years older than her, got busted sneaking in/vandalizing the mansion. Is it not appropriate to celebrate momentous occasions in beautiful places? Things seem to be at their worst after midnight, until early dawn. Belle Mont attracts approximately 5,000 visitors each year. Four bedrooms surround the rear or south courtyard, forming its U-shaped brick exterior. Earlier this month, prodded by the group Color of Change, four wedding websites said they . Blanket from Belle Mont Mansion. Belle Mont was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. The site is 1/4 mile west of US 43 South on Cook Lane, three miles south of intersection US 43 and US 72. My mother also said that there was a man, a caretaker of some sort, that lived in a house at the foot of the hill at some point during this time.