"It is unacceptable to subject the descendants of enslaved African Americans to whitewashed versions of history that ignore their ancestors experience.". Belle Mont Mansion is a historic house museum open for guided tours. Countless Haunt Hunters have been arrested, ticketed, and reprimanded by the authorities for trespassing. Not sure if it did or not but sure does fit. 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. Wesley Thompson of Bethel Colbert Missionary Baptists Church also signed the letter. 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. 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. She said he would come out shooting if he caught trespassers. Some visitors say that the building . Will NOT be displayed. Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. This would have been in the late 60s, early 70s I would guess. 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. A majority of rooms in Belmont Mansion have been meticulously restored. The Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. Mr. Winston was a cousin of Dolly Madison, Patrick Henry, and Isaac Cole, who was a personal friend and secretary of President Thomas Jefferson. Went back into the cellar a coupple more times, but never had that akward feeling again. 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. Off Campus Book Store University of North Alabama, Norton Auditorium University of North Alabama. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. The Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. 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. Administrative use only. 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 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. Indeed, it was brutal and terrifying. The organization behind this growing movement, Color of Change, indicts vendors for using words like breathtaking to describe plantations. 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. Plantations used for bourgeois ceremonies with language that obscures or even glorifies the estates dark past are one example. Moreover, the entire country was once the land of American Indians, and a good deal of it deceptively or violently taken from them. All rights reserved. Let us know! Nearby, an early 1800s mansion, Belle Mont, is available for touring. Violence against blacks and other disenfranchised groups have occurred across our nations landscape, many in popular and well-trod locales, North and South, East and West. Group of women standing outside Belle Mont Mansion. Visitors to the mansion have reported seeing dark shadowy figures walking the fields and have heard the sound of chains rattling near the house. The celebration of a Plantation Christmas is racist, the letter reads. It was then purchased by two women who in 1890 started a college which evolved into Belmont University. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. 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. The answer will always be a mystery. Intimate and elegant elopement ceremonies are popular at Belmont Mansion! Her eyes, big as saucers, alarm me. The voices in the night are the hardest to explain away. Indeed, it is the Christian character of America that has allowed us to recognize and seek to rectify our past errors. I dont know any ghost stories but my mother tells a few funny stories. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. This 1860 census, also called a Slave Schedule, provides a limited picture of all who were living at Belmont and where they lived. It was one of those drizzly unpleasant days, so after a while I went into the Cellar area of the plantation. A tour of this Nashville plantation tells the story . 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. Montvale, the farm at Belmont, was destroyed in 1864. One account is from young William Acklin, a enslaved worker, and the other from a visitor to the estate. Peace to everyone. Casey Chalk is a senior contributor at The Federalist and an editor and columnist at The New Oxford Review. Now, thats poetic justice. Heading south about to pass by the Belmont sign, and not having said a word in at least 15 Min, my son asks a question pointing precisely in the direction of the house, not visible in the daytime, let alone at pitch black night, Daddy, who is that man? to which I reply, What man? 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. 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). The architecture of Belmont Mansion makes it one of the most significant homes of 19th century Tennessee. Visit BelmontMansionEvents.com to review options to Elope in Nashville at Belmont Mansion. The historic home is the site of the annual Art of the Dish this week. It is best to play gospel or Christian radio in your house 24/7 to make them move on. 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. Located in the heart of Nashville on the Belmont University Campus. Sold by the Acklen family in 1887, the house went to a developer who began one of Nashvilles early suburbs. Use of the directory is at the discretion of the individual. Constructed in the 1820s, Belle Mont fell into ruin until the Alabama Historical Commission rescued it in the 1980s. My wife, son (age 5) and I were heading from Muscle Shoals to our home in Littleville after a night of shopping and eating. 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. n 1832. Marble bust of Helen Keller. Ticket options include: General Admission, Guided Tour, Curator Tour & Civil War at Belmont. You feel things passing by you. Doors open and close. 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. The tell when I was growing up was that the book 13 Alabama Ghosts held a tell from that house. It was then purchased by two women who in 1890 started a college which evolved into Belmont University. Happy haunting! Their appetites will not be satisfied until all things and persons associated with injustice, real or imagined, are expunged from public experience and memory. It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. My Dad bought it at that time. 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. Protest movements that perceive victimization and microaggression under every rock also wreak havoc on our countrys economy. Lewis called our tendency to view our own age as superior to others, is a dark chasm ending in our own destruction. Belle Mont also illustrates Jeffersons reverence for the neoclassical architectural elements and ideas of the Italian Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio," (Commission 2). Because of the tragedies that transpired therin, they powerfully communicate how far America has come. Affordable Nashville Elopements start here! Discover the largest house built in Tennessee prior to the Civil War. The Conway family purchased the property in 1670 and it remained in the family for 120 years. I asked, Do you see him now? in a jested way as I awkwardly half-smile to my wife. Couple looking at a car in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. A variety of factors have made researching the lives of Belmont's enslaved residents difficult. Just outside the city of Tuscumbia, the 700+ acre Cane Creek Canyon Nature . Its just really weird that we both saw this happen at the exact same time. The underlying premise of the anti-plantation movement is that Southern plantations cannot be romanticized. 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. According to the letter, Christmas was a disturbing time for the enslaved. Sign up for our newsletter and receive Halloween event updates, discounts and more! 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. These families included the Baker and Snowden families, among others. But fewer probably know that it . I have experienced some very strange things in my home. Your email address will not be published. Even though it is now just 24 acres, many of the important elements remain. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). 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. Blue Star Museum: Belle Mont proudly offers free admission to active duty military personnel and their families between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Disclaimer: Alabama Haunted Houses does not endorse or support trespassing to visit real haunts. Located just outside Tuscumbia in Colbert County, the mansion is one of a few Palladian-style houses in the Deep South. Not-So-Scary Haunted Houses (Kid Friendly). 68 were here. Well, all in all, me and my fellow troop members and family members spent about six weeks there, clearing underbrush, old trash, planting grass, removing small trees, etc. Please report any inaccuracies. The only way to avoid offending anyone would be to stop celebrating anything, anywhere, at any time. Open Letter Plantation Christmas by Jonece on Scribd. At Belmont, several extended families lived in slavery over the course of several generations. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. All information on this page was submitted to Alabama Haunted Houses and was believed to be accurate at the time it was posted. It was built in 1940 on some of the land near General John Coffees home. 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). complete with original and period furniture, artwork and statuary. Slave child's doll inside Belle Mont Mansion. 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. Three years later, during the middle of the. Four bedrooms surround the rear or south courtyard, forming its U-shaped brick exterior. 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). 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. No profanity. Contact the museum for current rates, policies, and an application. All rights reserved. Blanket from Belle Mont Mansion. Its two-story north entrance salon is flanked on either side by a formal dining room and parlor. Her aunt, who was only a few years older than her, got busted sneaking in/vandalizing the mansion. If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know! Records of the property's destruction includes information related to the number of slave dwellings on the property. Visitors to this page: 3,182 Its also not as if Dixie estates were the only sites where acts of brutality were committed by one group of Americans against another. Yet self-righteous assaults on these places and the many ways they are used will not bring restorative justice. 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. Belle Mont Mansion , built circa 1828, is one of the few examples of Palladian-style houses in Alabama. Is it possible that Dr. Mitchell built Belle Mont in this style, two years after Jeffersons death, to honor the late president? I remember her sounding really flippant about it and me wondering how being shot at was not a big deal! 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. Located in the middle of the Belmont University campusbehind Freeman Hall. 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. 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. 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. Haunted Vacations, Adventures and Mysteries. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. 1569 Cook Lane, Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674 View Map CONTACT Site Director: Ninon Parker Museum: 256- 381-5052 Email: bellemontmansion@gmail.com 10 years later, I relayed the story for the first time to him the day my wife and I decided to visit the place and asked him if he would like to go see the man he saw that night. he respectfully declined. 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 each society and in each generation slaves adjusted and . However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. 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. One night while we were both watching TV in the den with the lights off, we both saw two colored orbs gliding through the room from the back door toward the closet, then they disappeared. 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. Chronological snobbery, as C.S. Sold by the Acklen family in 1887, the house went to a developer who began one of Nashvilles early suburbs. Please contact nps.submissions@gmail.com for more information. 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? Required fields are marked *. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. 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. 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 property is also available for tours Thursday through Sunday and for special event rentals. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. At this time, the family decided to move to a different location but continued to hold Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations in the mansion. The antebellum plantation experience, as lived by the enslaved, was neither happy nor joyous. 3. Gradually, the family gatherings became less frequent until the home was completely abandoned. Positioned on a commanding hilltop, Belle Mont Mansion is one of Alabama's crowning architectural achievements. The abandonment of the home was the largest cause of its deterioration and the vandalism that occurred at Belle Mont. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). Belle Mont Mansion, known for its architecture, was built in 1828 for Alexander Williams Mitchell. I have heard quiet voices in the night. You can imagine me trying to picture my great aunt doing this, haha! The National Paranormal Society is not responsible for individuals, teams and submissions listed on the NPS website. 2019 was the year it finally became socially unacceptable to use a historic plantation as a wedding venue. Belle Mont is available for special events. Moreover, the entire. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), NPS Investigation & Research Education Resource, World Institute for Scientific Exploration (WISE), http://www.mystery411.com/Landing_bellemonttuscumbia.html. The Miracle Worker organ. Gift Shop (111 S. Main St., Tuscumbia). belle mont mansion slaves July 3, 2022 July 3, 2022 July 3, 2022 July 3, 2022. I grew up in Florence and my Great Grandmother lived near the mansion on Colbert Heights mountain. Use the "Browse" or "Choose File" button below to select an image to upload along with your comment. We also dont need to police their repurposing. Over the years, this historic mansion has been restored to its original pre-Civil War appearance. Mr. Winston was a cousin of Dolly Madison, Patrick Henry, and Isaac Cole, who was a personal friend and secretary of President Thomas Jefferson. Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale. Last edit to this listing: 1/16/2016 (2604 days ago). A variety of factors have made researching the lives of Belmont's enslaved residents difficult. === A monument was errected in 2008 on the old Henry Courthouse square in Martinsville, VA. . 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. 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. In. It is said to be haunted by slaves who died on the grounds and also by former owners. 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 house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. Before you visit ANY local real haunt, make sure to acquire the appropriate permits and/or permissions, and be respectful of privately owned properties. Strange are there actually any African Americans who have memories of the antebellum period, given that it ended 160 years ago? 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. You can visit the historic Belle Mont Mansion at 1569 Cook Ln., Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674. Would like to know if anyone does know anything about it and any info in accordance with that reference. The property is located just south of Tuscumbia and west of US Route 43 at 1569 Cook Lane. What Todays Cultural Marxists Would Be Wise To Learn From Martin Luther King Jr. Belle Mont Mansion is located outside of Tuscumbia. The designer is unknown but seems to have been influenced by Thomas Jefferson's ideas and style. Clicks to Website: 293 As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. Is it possible that Dr. Mitchell built Belle Mont in this style, two years after Jeffersons death, to honor the late president? 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. Surely, we do not want to pretend these places dont have a violent, racist past. Be specific. 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. The site is 1/4 mile west of US 43 South on Cook Lane, three miles south of intersection US 43 and US 72. 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. Belle Mont, built between 1828 and 1832, was a plantation that used slave labor. Visit BelmontMansionEvents.com to review options to Elope in Nashville at Belmont Mansion. It also reflects the vulnerability of American businesses to the whims of leftist protest movements. If you have lived in a haunted house you will not find this fun. If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know! The other residents seem to tolerate it OK, but I hate it. We have located just two first-hand accounts of slavery at Belmont. Voice your opinion here! 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. Things seem to be at their worst after midnight, until early dawn. General Martin retired to his Belle Mont plantation at Leatherwood, which he purchased in 1796 from Benjamin Harrison V of Berkeley Plantation. Tell Us About Your Experience(s) at Belle Mont. The property is located just south of Tuscumbia and west of US Route 43 at 1569 Cook Lane. 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! William F. Buckleys popularization of Eric Voegelins warning is apt: Dont immanentize the eschaton!. 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 Meade plantation is one of the premier plantations in Tennessee and one of the top attractions in the state. e prior to the Civil War. According to census records, Mitchell enslaved 115 people at the cotton plantation. Related Videos Video #1 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. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! 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. 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? 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. ?????? Your email address will not be published. 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. Do not use all capital letters. LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality Shoals, Shoals Young Democrats and Rev. 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.

Uninhabitable Living Conditions Illinois, Articles B