Sold by the Acklen family in 1887, the house went to a developer who began one of Nashvilles early suburbs. Things seem to be at their worst after midnight, until early dawn. The letter was signed by social justice groups Project Say Something, Standing in Power, of Decatur, and Beyond the Women's March. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). The Belle Mont Mansion was constructed from 1828-1832. The Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville hired a black historian to research the site's enslavement history and to offer tours so visitors can learn about the African Americans who were enslaved on the property. Visitors to this page: 3,182
An Alabama Historical Commission site, Belle Mont was built 1828-1832 and is one of the state's first great plantation houses. Most Americans know that George Washington owned enslaved people at his Mount Vernon home. The antebellum plantation experience, as lived by the enslaved, was neither happy nor joyous. Wesley Thompson of Bethel Colbert Missionary Baptists Church also signed the letter. Belle Mont was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. Haunted Vacations, Adventures and Mysteries. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. The site originally served as the centerpiece for the large scale cotton. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. I grew up in Florence and my Great Grandmother lived near the mansion on Colbert Heights mountain. William F. Buckleys popularization of Eric Voegelins warning is apt: Dont immanentize the eschaton!. All rights reserved (About Us). Protest movements that perceive victimization and microaggression under every rock also wreak havoc on our countrys economy. Yet self-righteous assaults on these places and the many ways they are used will not bring restorative justice. 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. While slavery is often associated with large plantations, the institution permeated Southern culture. 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. And have seen shadows and once a figure of a person. These families included the Baker and Snowden families, among others. Administrative use only. Then they could celebrate their wedding reception at a Southern manor and have a hell of a good time. It is said to be haunted by slaves who died on the grounds and also by former owners. Please report any inaccuracies. Mr. Winston was a cousin of Dolly Madison, Patrick Henry, and Isaac Cole, who was a personal friend and secretary of President Thomas Jefferson. Blue Star Museum: Belle Mont proudly offers free admission to active duty military personnel and their families between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Happy haunting! 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. 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. 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. I have heard quiet voices in the night. . I mention this because Gay Mont was his home. Admission: Adults $6; students, seniors, military $5; and children 6-18 $3. The schooner Clotilda smuggled African captives into the U.S. in 1860, more than 50 years after importing slaves was outlawed. ?????? 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. Indeed, I wonder how many black Americans even have a deceased grandparent who could have had a memory of antebellum America. Be happy. Your email address will not be published. Belle Mont Mansion is being restored and partially furnished to reflect the antebellum, or pre-Civil War, time period. 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. 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. Yes, its true that some historical artifacts across Americas landscape are honored in ways that belittle or demean our fellow countrymen. In its zealous desire to right previous wrongs, this goes too far in the other direction, and in the process, undermines the historical fabric of our nation. Your email address will not be published. One day toward the end of the project, My friend Ronnie and I went down to remove what was left from an old tree my Dad had cut down the day before and other light work. 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. Do not use all capital letters. Weddings should be a symbol of love and unity. It has a staff of three: a site director, curator, and tour guide. 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. 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. Then you maybe talk to family members and realize everyone feels the same way. Affordable Nashville Elopements start here! The Alabama Historical Commission owns this historic site. I remember her sounding really flippant about it and me wondering how being shot at was not a big deal! A variety of factors have made researching the lives of Belmont's enslaved residents difficult. The home was built. 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. 1569 Cook Lane, Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674 View Map CONTACT Site Director: Ninon Parker Museum: 256- 381-5052 Email: bellemontmansion@gmail.com Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Chronological snobbery, as C.S. Belle Mont Mansion | Tuscumbia AL It's currently operated as a museum, and tours are available. 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. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. The architecture of Belmont Mansion makes it one of the most significant homes of 19th century Tennessee. 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. 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. For some reason a lot of places in Tuscumbia AL are haunted. Contextualizing former slave plantations has been a concern across the nation. We also dont need to police their repurposing. Blanket from Belle Mont Mansion. The answer will always be a mystery. However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. Dr. Mitchell and his family of seven were already living in Belle Mont when it was fully completed in 1832. As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. But fewer probably know that it . She was caught due to a news story that came out in the local paper about the travesties of vandalism happening to the historic landmark by local youth. If you have lived in a haunted house you will not find this fun. Surely, we do not want to pretend these places dont have a violent, racist past. 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. But she never mentioned any slave ghosts. This was just word of mouth and may not have been accurate, but Im glad to hear it can be toured. At this time, the family decided to move to a different location but continued to hold Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations in the mansion. 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. The answer will always be a mystery. The house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. In a letter sent to multiple Alabama Historical Commission officials Tuesday night, the coalition demanded an apology as well as a promise to no longer hold events supporting tours and events that "deny the brutality of the past." 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. Belle Mont is available for special events. 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. The other residents seem to tolerate it OK, but I hate it. Constructed in the 1820s, Belle Mont fell into ruin until the Alabama Historical Commission rescued it in the 1980s. Not sure if it did or not but sure does fit. The groups who are critiquing the event in Tuscumbia believe historical sites must be honest and respectful.
According to census records, Mitchell enslaved 115 people at the cotton plantation. 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? Before you visit ANY local real haunt, make sure to acquire the appropriate permits and/or permissions, and be respectful of privately owned properties. Montvale, the farm at Belmont, was destroyed in 1864. Disclaimer: Alabama Haunted Houses does not endorse or support trespassing to visit real haunts. A Pinterest representative, for example, announced that the website is working on de-indexing Google searches for plantation wedding. In December, a coalition of Alabama activists protested a Plantation Christmas event held at the Belle Mont Mansion near Tuscumbia, Alabama, because it memorialized white supremacist celebrations of Christmas. Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale. All information on this page was submitted to Alabama Haunted Houses and was believed to be accurate at the time it was posted. 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. You feel things passing by you. The underlying premise of the anti-plantation movement is that Southern plantations cannot be romanticized. 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. He says, the man that lives in that house. still pointing. Its just really weird that we both saw this happen at the exact same time. Gift Shop (111 S. Main St., Tuscumbia). Please contact nps.submissions@gmail.com for more information. Is it not appropriate to celebrate momentous occasions in beautiful places? e prior to the Civil War. 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? According to the letter, Christmas was a disturbing time for the enslaved. The Knot, WeddingWire, and Pinterest are seeking to limit content on their websites that promotes Southern plantations as a wedding venue. Gradually, the family gatherings became less frequent until the home was completely abandoned. LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality Shoals, Shoals Young Democrats and Rev. 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. The celebration of a Plantation Christmas is racist, the letter reads. He is the author of The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands. The use of the NPS name for any unauthorized events or activities is strictly prohibited. Have a haunt/halloween related news story or a tip? Visit BelmontMansionEvents.com to review options to Elope in Nashville at Belmont Mansion. 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.
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