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." You can visit the historic Belle Mont Mansion at 1569 Cook Ln., Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674. 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). This would have been in the late 60s, early 70s I would guess. 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. Surely, we do not want to pretend these places dont have a violent, racist past. Some visitors say that the building is haunted, having seen ghosts of former owners or of the 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. Intimate and elegant elopement ceremonies are popular at Belmont Mansion! My great great great great grandfather used to live at the belle mont mansion ! It's estimated that 40 percent of slave owners may have been white women. The schooner Clotilda smuggled African captives into the U.S. in 1860, more than 50 years after importing slaves was outlawed. 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. 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. 2023 The Federalist, A wholly independent division of FDRLST Media. 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). Wesley Thompson of Bethel Colbert Missionary Baptists Church also signed the letter. At first you think this is all in your imagination. 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! I asked, Do you see him now? in a jested way as I awkwardly half-smile to my wife. 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 house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. 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. 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. It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. Tell Us About Your Experience(s) 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. One account is from young William Acklin, a enslaved worker, and the other from a visitor to the estate. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. Moreover, the entire country was once the land of American Indians, and a good deal of it deceptively or violently taken from them. Records of the property's destruction includes information related to the number of slave dwellings on the property. Dr. Mitchell and his family of seven were already living in Belle Mont when it was fully completed in 1832. At the time, the name of the plantation was not Gay Mont, but Rose Hill. We went back there, and I finished the project, with help from all was involved. The underlying premise of the anti-plantation movement is that Southern plantations cannot be romanticized. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. This 1860 census, also called a Slave Schedule, provides a limited picture of all who were living at Belmont and where they lived. 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. Is it possible that Dr. Mitchell built Belle Mont in this style, two years after Jeffersons death, to honor the late president? Group of women standing outside Belle Mont Mansion. 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. 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. 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. 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. Yes, its true that some historical artifacts across Americas landscape are honored in ways that belittle or demean our fellow countrymen. The organization behind this growing movement, Color of Change, indicts vendors for using words like breathtaking to describe plantations. Required fields are marked *. Blue Star Museum: Belle Mont proudly offers free admission to active duty military personnel and their families between Memorial Day and Labor Day. 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. Moreover, blacks, both free and slave, provided the bulk of labor that built the White House, the U.S. Capitol, and other early government buildings. The historic home is the site of the annual Art of the Dish this week. Top ways to experience Belle Mont Mansion and nearby attractions Florence, Muscle Shoals Multi-Attraction Pass 2 Attractions & Museums from $25.00 per adult Muscle Shoals Sound Studio Tour in Sheffield Alabama 72 Recommended Walking Tours from $20.00 per adult The Raptor, High Rope Course and Zipline Tickets, Wheeler Lake KOA 1 Visit BelmontMansionEvents.com to review options to Elope in Nashville at Belmont Mansion. According to the letter, Christmas was a disturbing time for the enslaved. The architecture of Belmont Mansion makes it one of the most significant homes of 19th century Tennessee. Owned by the Alabama Historical Commission and operated by the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation. My Dad bought it at that time. For more information, click here. Located just outside Tuscumbia in Colbert County, the mansion is one of a few . Intimate and elegant elopement ceremonies are popular at Belmont Mansion! Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. 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. This gets to the broader dilemma with our zeitgeist, which combines woke deconstructionism with a modern version of damnatio memoriae, or condemnation of memory, an ancient Roman practice whereby persons vilified by the state were erased from public memory. Have a haunt/halloween related news story or a tip? As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. 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. Strange are there actually any African Americans who have memories of the antebellum period, given that it ended 160 years ago? Your email address will not be published. He says, the man that lives in that house. still pointing. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. I have experienced some very strange things in my home. Administrative use only. Belle Mont Mansion is a historic house museum open for guided tours. Belle Mont Mansion, known for its architecture, was built in 1828 for Alexander Williams Mitchell. That seems far more justified than puritannical policing of plantations. Now, thats poetic justice. My wife, son (age 5) and I were heading from Muscle Shoals to our home in Littleville after a night of shopping and eating. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. Indeed, it is the Christian character of America that has allowed us to recognize and seek to rectify our past errors. Belle Meade plantation is one of the premier plantations in Tennessee and one of the top attractions in the state. The use of the NPS name for any unauthorized events or activities is strictly prohibited. Haunted Vacations, Adventures and Mysteries. Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. 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. Constructed in the 1820s, Belle Mont fell into ruin until the Alabama Historical Commission rescued it in the 1980s. Discover the largest house built in Tennessee prior to the Civil War. Weddings should be a symbol of love and unity. 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 Knot, WeddingWire, and Pinterest are seeking to limit content on their websites that promotes Southern plantations as a wedding venue. Belle Mont Mansion has been listed under several names through its history. 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? The Conway family purchased the property in 1670 and it remained in the family for 120 years. The home was built. All of these places, despite their histories, are objectively beautiful. In addition, volunteers from the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation assist as docents for special events and participate in fund-raising activities. 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. Will NOT be displayed. Voice your opinion here! Belle Mont Mansion is being restored and partially furnished to reflect the antebellum, or pre-Civil War, time period. At Belmont, several extended families lived in slavery over the course of several generations. 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. 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. 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. Three years later, during the middle of the. Very little historic data, including census records, include last names of those who were enslaved, making it challenging to locate descendents through geneaology records. LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality Shoals, Shoals Young Democrats and Rev. Its important the reality of what happened in these spaces is present, versus a romanticization of human rights abuses.. 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. Tickets are available at Belle Mont Mansion and at Fiddledee D! Jones says her new title is one she holds . 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. Belle Mont also illustrates Jeffersons reverence for the neoclassical architectural elements and ideas of the Italian Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio," (Commission 2). 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. Affordable Nashville Elopements start here! Doors open and close. Shes told me that prior to the restorations the mansion was a prime site for local teens to be dumb kids trespass, vandalize, etc. Is it not appropriate to celebrate momentous occasions in beautiful places? All rights reserved. After finding lesson plans asking Alabama fourth-graders to write their own slave narratives, experts talk about the hardships of teaching slavery on an elementary school level. . Is this place really haunted? 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 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. Just outside the city of Tuscumbia, the 700+ acre Cane Creek Canyon Nature . Belle Mont Mansion has resumed normal operating hours and will be operating at reduced capacity to safeguard against COVID-19. 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. It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. Nanyehi was among the first Cherokee to own African-American slaves. 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. 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. A variety of factors have made researching the lives of Belmont's enslaved residents difficult. Belle Mont was built for Alexander Williams Mitchell, who grew up in Louisa County, Virginia, only 25 miles from Jefferson's home at Monticello. 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. Although the original architect and builder remain unknown, the style of Belle Mont appears also to have been influenced by past. 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. Belle Mont, built between 1828 and 1832, was a plantation that used slave labor. Ninon Parker puts candles out on the table fully set for dinner at Belle Mont Mansion in Colbert County. What Todays Cultural Marxists Would Be Wise To Learn From Martin Luther King Jr. Belle Mont also illustrates Jeffersons reverence for the neoclassical architectural elements and ideas of the Italian Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio,. Unlock premium content, ad-free browsing, and access to comments for just $4/month. Belle Mont attracts approximately 5,000 visitors each year. 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? Four bedrooms surround the rear or south courtyard, forming its U-shaped brick exterior. If such locales have tragic histories, this is all the more reason to reimagine them in ways that both recognize and overcome that past. In 1833, the property was bought by Issac Williams, who owned 119 enslaved people by 1855. 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). Countless Haunt Hunters have been arrested, ticketed, and reprimanded by the authorities for trespassing. The property is located just south of Tuscumbia and west of US Route 43 at 1569 Cook Lane. Chronological snobbery, as C.S. 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. "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. However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. 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. As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. Belle Mont was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. General Martin retired to his Belle Mont plantation at Leatherwood, which he purchased in 1796 from Benjamin Harrison V of Berkeley Plantation. Contact the museum for current rates, policies, and an application. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). 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. Be happy. I remember her sounding really flippant about it and me wondering how being shot at was not a big deal! The coalition said the event celebrated white supremacy by ignoring the enslaved people who labored at the cotton plantation. Affordable Nashville Elopements start 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. 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. The site is 1/4 mile west of US 43 South on Cook Lane, three miles south of intersection US 43 and US 72. Open Letter Plantation Christmas by Jonece on Scribd. 68 were here. Ken is a graphic designer, web developer and co-founder of One True Paranormal, a para-group in southwest Missouri. According to census records, Mitchell enslaved 115 people at the cotton plantation. He has a bachelors in history and masters in teaching from the University of Virginia and a masters in theology from Christendom College. 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. 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. Contextualizing former slave plantations has been a concern across the nation. Ticket options include: General Admission, Guided Tour, Curator Tour & Civil War at Belmont. Let us know!
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