I dont know any ghost stories but my mother tells a few funny stories. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. In 1790, John Hipkins purchased the property from the Conway family and in 1791 built Belle Grove for his only child, Fannie. In addition, volunteers from the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation assist as docents for special events and participate in fund-raising activities. 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. 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. Marble bust of Helen Keller. 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). It is said to be haunted by slaves who died on the grounds and also by former owners. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). Multiple north Alabama organizations are demanding an apology after a Christmas event was held at a Colbert County plantation mansion where enslaved people once labored. To avoid this, be sure to get in touch with the property owners before visiting a haunt, and respect their hours of operation, local regulations, and rules for visiting at all times. Affordable Nashville Elopements start here! Private property should be respected at all times, as should all posted signs concerning trespassing, hours of operation and other local regulations. Shes told me that prior to the restorations the mansion was a prime site for local teens to be dumb kids trespass, vandalize, etc. Visit BelmontMansionEvents.com to review options to Elope in Nashville at Belmont Mansion. Belle Mont Mansion is being restored and partially furnished to reflect the antebellum, or pre-Civil War, time period. 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. Belle Mont Mansion has resumed normal operating hours and will be operating at reduced capacity to safeguard against COVID-19. 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. Visit BelmontMansionEvents.com to review options to Elope in Nashville at Belmont Mansion. Moreover, are the perpetrators of our historical-cultural cleansing so naive to think their children and grandchildren wont do the same thing to them, who have fostered and encouraged a paradigm of national seppuku? 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. This is a list of plantations and/or plantation houses in the U.S. state of Virginia that are National Historic Landmarks, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, other historic registers, or are otherwise significant for their history, association with significant events or people, or their architecture and design. 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. He is the author of The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands. Visitors to the mansion have reported seeing dark shadowy figures walking the fields and have heard the sound of chains rattling near the house. Then you maybe talk to family members and realize everyone feels the same way. 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. If you have lived in a haunted house you will not find this fun. 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 is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. Weddings should be a symbol of love and unity. My Dad bought it at that time. William F. Buckleys popularization of Eric Voegelins warning is apt: Dont immanentize the eschaton!. The celebration of a Plantation Christmas is racist, the letter reads. 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. Located just outside Tuscumbia in Colbert County, the mansion is one of a few . Belle Mont isnt included in either of Kathryn Tucker Windhams books about Alabama ghosts. Nearby, an early 1800s mansion, Belle Mont, is available for touring. Ticket options include: General Admission, Guided Tour, Curator Tour & Civil War at Belmont. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Belle Mont also illustrates Jeffersons reverence for the neoclassical architectural elements and ideas of the Italian Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio,. Even though it is now just 24 acres, many of the important elements remain. He has a bachelors in history and masters in teaching from the University of Virginia and a masters in theology from Christendom College. 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. 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. 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). That seems far more justified than puritannical policing of plantations. Stories of the Past - Conversations for the Future. 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 was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. Very little historic data, including census records, include last names of those who were enslaved, making it challenging to locate descendents through geneaology records. As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. Please contact nps.submissions@gmail.com for more information. What Todays Cultural Marxists Would Be Wise To Learn From Martin Luther King Jr. The historic home is the site of the annual Art of the Dish this week. 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 remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. The architecture of Belmont Mansion makes it one of the most significant homes of 19th century Tennessee. Protest movements that perceive victimization and microaggression under every rock also wreak havoc on our countrys economy. complete with original and period furniture, artwork and statuary. Is it not appropriate to celebrate momentous occasions in beautiful places? One was a bluish light, the other one looked golden. Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. 68 were here. As of Thursday morning, Alabama Historical Commission members have not responded to the letter or AL.coms emails and phone calls. 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. Belle Meade plantation is one of the premier plantations in Tennessee and one of the top attractions in the state. 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? Dr. Mitchell and his family of seven were already living in Belle Mont when it was fully completed in 1832. 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. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. Many of them, even their detractors must admit, are beautiful, both in reference to their natural surroundings and their architecture. Sold by the Acklen family in 1887, the house went to a developer who began one of Nashvilles early suburbs. The property is located just south of Tuscumbia and west of US Route 43 at 1569 Cook Lane. Peace to everyone. The site is 1/4 mile west of US 43 South on Cook Lane, three miles south of intersection US 43 and US 72. Your email address will not be published. It once stretched over 5400 acres and hosted celebrities, presidents, and countless southern gentlemen. I was born and raised in Tuscumbia. Her eyes, big as saucers, alarm me. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. Blue Star Museum: Belle Mont proudly offers free admission to active duty military personnel and their families between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Group rates available. I grew up in Florence and my Great Grandmother lived near the mansion on Colbert Heights mountain. All rights reserved. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. I have heard quiet voices in the night. The organization behind this growing movement, Color of Change, indicts vendors for using words like breathtaking to describe plantations. A tour of this Nashville plantation tells the story . Following the death of his wife Alexander Mitchell remarried and sold the plantation to Isaac and Catherine Winston and moved to Philadelphia in 1833. "Others feared the upcoming slave auctions commonly held in January and February in north Alabama as well as upcoming contracts for slave labor that was 'hired out.'". Marble bust of Helen Keller. 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. The Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. "While the holidays brought a brief respite from work, many enslaved people took the opportunity to escape the bondage of the plantation," the letter said. Plantation Christmas at Belle Mont is held annually the first Sunday in December and features period costumed interpreters, decorations, refreshments, and entertainment. Montvale, the farm at Belmont, was destroyed in 1864. Things seem to be at their worst after midnight, until early dawn. According to census records, Mitchell enslaved 115 people at the cotton plantation. Visitors to this page: 3,182 So all the people who work at these historic plantations, regardless of their race, sex, or income, must suffer the economic consequences of what feelings their employers history might provoke. 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. Went back into the cellar a coupple more times, but never had that akward feeling again. My great great great great grandfather used to live at the belle mont mansion ! The Knot, WeddingWire, and Pinterest are seeking to limit content on their websites that promotes Southern plantations as a wedding venue. 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. Tickets are available at Belle Mont Mansion and at Fiddledee D! 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. View all AHC Owned Historic Houses & Museums. Earlier this month, prodded by the group Color of Change, four wedding websites said they . Blanket from Belle Mont Mansion. A variety of factors have made researching the lives of Belmont's enslaved residents difficult. Clicks to Website: 293 Jonece Starr Dunigan | jdunigan@reckonmedia.com, hired a black historian to research the site's enslavement history, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. 2019 was the year it finally became socially unacceptable to use a historic plantation as a wedding venue. Will NOT be displayed. It was one of those drizzly unpleasant days, so after a while I went into the Cellar area of the plantation. It was then purchased by two women who in 1890 started a college which evolved into Belmont University. The Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. Surely, we do not want to pretend these places dont have a violent, racist past. 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.However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale. Their appetites will not be satisfied until all things and persons associated with injustice, real or imagined, are expunged from public experience and memory. Indeed, it is the Christian character of America that has allowed us to recognize and seek to rectify our past errors. Strange are there actually any African Americans who have memories of the antebellum period, given that it ended 160 years ago? You can imagine me trying to picture my great aunt doing this, haha! 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. This is not a good thing. Disclaimer: Alabama Haunted Houses does not endorse or support trespassing to visit real haunts. It's currently operated as a museum, and tours are available. 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. Owned by the Alabama Historical Commission and operated by the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation. LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality Shoals, Shoals Young Democrats and Rev. The home was built. 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. Gradually, the family gatherings became less frequent until the home was completely abandoned. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, he was a physician, planter, and an early elected official of Franklin (present-day Colbert) County, where he settled around 1820. 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. quizlet,