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Isaac Winston owned 114 slaves according to the 1860 census and died August 13, 1863 at Bell Mont during the American Civil War. Administrative use only. n 1832. Is it possible that Dr. Mitchell built Belle Mont in this style, two years after Jeffersons death, to honor the late president? The tell when I was growing up was that the book 13 Alabama Ghosts held a tell from that house. Moreover, the entire country was once the land of American Indians, and a good deal of it deceptively or violently taken from them. Your CommentsHave a photograph taken from this location? Off Campus Book Store University of North Alabama, Norton Auditorium University of North Alabama. This style stems from the neoclassical architectural design of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. 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. This 1860 census, also called a Slave Schedule, provides a limited picture of all who were living at Belmont and where they lived. 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. Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale. The only way to avoid offending anyone would be to stop celebrating anything, anywhere, at any time. It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. Disclaimer: Alabama Haunted Houses does not endorse or support trespassing to visit real haunts. 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. Marble bust of Helen Keller. Sign up for our newsletter and receive Halloween event updates, discounts and more! Unlock premium content, ad-free browsing, and access to comments for just $4/month. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Very little historic data, including census records, include last names of those who were enslaved, making it challenging to locate descendents through geneaology records. 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? 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. Only a country with a conscience in our case informed by the Christian beliefs of our ancestors would bother to engage in the kinds of self-criticism and atonement visible in American society. As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. Belle Mont isnt included in either of Kathryn Tucker Windhams books about Alabama ghosts. 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. Marble bust of Helen Keller. Small items like dimes and nails are moved. Moreover, the entire. It remained in the Winston family for over a century, and is currently used as a historic house museum open for tours by appointment. Before you visit ANY local real haunt, make sure to acquire the appropriate permits and/or permissions, and be respectful of privately owned properties. Slaves in the plantation generations were members of what Berlin calls "slave societies," where slavery was the primary source of labor. 2008-2023 AlabamaHauntedHouses.com. I dont know any ghost stories but my mother tells a few funny stories. 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. 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. I have experienced some very strange things in my home. 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. 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. 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. . Stories of the Past - Conversations for the Future. Will NOT be displayed. In 1833, the property was bought by Issac Williams, who owned 119 enslaved people by 1855. Belle Mont's out-buildings are no longer standing, but several foundations, including that of a slave house, have been located by archeologists. Tickets are available at Belle Mont Mansion and at Fiddledee D! 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. These families included the Baker and Snowden families, among others. 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? The architecture of Belmont Mansion makes it one of the most significant homes of 19th century Tennessee. 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). I grew up in Florence and my Great Grandmother lived near the mansion on Colbert Heights mountain. Jonece Starr Dunigan | jdunigan@reckonmedia.com, hired a black historian to research the site's enslavement history, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. Your email address will not be published. Is it possible that Dr. Mitchell built Belle Mont in this style, two years after Jeffersons death, to honor the late president? 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. Related Videos Video #1 Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. 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. According to census records, Mitchell enslaved 115 people at the cotton plantation. What do you think? Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. 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. The abandonment of the home was the largest cause of its deterioration and the vandalism that occurred at Belle Mont. Its also not as if Dixie estates were the only sites where acts of brutality were committed by one group of Americans against another. In 1790, John Hipkins purchased the property from the Conway family and in 1791 built Belle Grove for his only child, Fannie. e prior to the Civil War. The answer will always be a mystery. If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know! Following the death of his wife Alexander Mitchell remarried and sold the plantation to Isaac and Catherine Winston and moved to Philadelphia in 1833. 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). 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. As of Thursday morning, Alabama Historical Commission members have not responded to the letter or AL.coms emails and phone calls. Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. The groups who are critiquing the event in Tuscumbia believe historical sites must be honest and respectful. Required fields are marked *. Its important the reality of what happened in these spaces is present, versus a romanticization of human rights abuses.. 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. And have seen shadows and once a figure of a person. Mr. Winston was a cousin of Dolly Madison, Patrick Henry, and Isaac Cole, who was a personal friend and secretary of President Thomas Jefferson. Visitors to the mansion have reported seeing dark shadowy figures walking the fields and have heard the sound of chains rattling near the house. 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. 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. 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. 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. The underlying premise of the anti-plantation movement is that Southern plantations cannot be romanticized. Be specific. 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. Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. Their appetites will not be satisfied until all things and persons associated with injustice, real or imagined, are expunged from public experience and memory. Contextualizing former slave plantations has been a concern across the nation. LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality Shoals, Shoals Young Democrats and Rev. 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. Plantation Christmas at Belle Mont is held annually the first Sunday in December and features period costumed interpreters, decorations, refreshments, and entertainment. 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. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. 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. Belle Mont Mansion has resumed normal operating hours and will be operating at reduced capacity to safeguard against COVID-19. Mr. Winston was a cousin of Dolly Madison, Patrick Henry, and Isaac Cole, who was a personal friend and secretary of President Thomas Jefferson. 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 other residents seem to tolerate it OK, but I hate it. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). The answer will always be a mystery. Not-So-Scary Haunted Houses (Kid Friendly). Countless Haunt Hunters have been arrested, ticketed, and reprimanded by the authorities for trespassing. 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. My wife, son (age 5) and I were heading from Muscle Shoals to our home in Littleville after a night of shopping and eating. All of these places, despite their histories, are objectively beautiful. I mention this because Gay Mont was his home. 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? Belle Mont Mansion is a historic house museum open for guided tours. Belle Mont was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. A tour of this Nashville plantation tells the story . Belle Mont is available for special events. Dr. Mitchell and his family of seven were already living in Belle Mont when it was fully completed in 1832. The house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. 3. However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. Its just really weird that we both saw this happen at the exact same time. He says, the man that lives in that house. still pointing. Peace to everyone. 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. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends. Belle Mont Mansion is located outside of Tuscumbia. 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. The coalition said the event celebrated white supremacy by ignoring the enslaved people who labored at the cotton plantation. It's estimated that 40 percent of slave owners may have been white women. The use of the NPS name for any unauthorized events or activities is strictly prohibited. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Happy haunting! 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. We have located just two first-hand accounts of slavery at Belmont. The antebellum plantation experience, as lived by the enslaved, was neither happy nor joyous. Montvale, the farm at Belmont, was destroyed in 1864. Ken is a graphic designer, web developer and co-founder of One True Paranormal, a para-group in southwest Missouri. Use the "Browse" or "Choose File" button below to select an image to upload along with your comment. In addition, volunteers from the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation assist as docents for special events and participate in fund-raising activities. According to the letter, Christmas was a disturbing time for the enslaved. However, the staff continues to research as we endeavor to tell the stories of all who lived at Belmont. 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 celebration of a Plantation Christmas is racist, the letter reads. You can visit the historic Belle Mont Mansion at 1569 Cook Ln., Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). The site originally served as the centerpiece for the large scale cotton. 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. Positioned on a commanding hilltop, Belle Mont Mansion is one of Alabama's crowning architectural achievements. 1569 Cook Lane, Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674 View Map CONTACT Site Director: Ninon Parker Museum: 256- 381-5052 Email: bellemontmansion@gmail.com Share Your Experience or Comments - Belle Mont. 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. The designer is unknown but seems to have been influenced by Thomas Jefferson's ideas and style. William F. Buckleys popularization of Eric Voegelins warning is apt: Dont immanentize the eschaton!. Visitors to this page: 3,182 This would have been in the late 60s, early 70s I would guess. All information on this page was submitted to Alabama Haunted Houses and was believed to be accurate at the time it was posted. The letter was also sent to Ninon Parker, who is listed as a site director for the Belle Mont Mansion. 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. Protest movements that perceive victimization and microaggression under every rock also wreak havoc on our countrys economy. For some reason a lot of places in Tuscumbia AL are haunted. 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. Chronological snobbery, as C.S. Located just outside Tuscumbia in Colbert County, the mansion is one of a few . The letter was signed by social justice groups Project Say Something, Standing in Power, of Decatur, and Beyond the Women's March. Located in the middle of the Belmont University campusbehind Freeman Hall. 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). Its two-story north entrance salon is flanked on either side by a formal dining room and parlor. The house and surrounding property are reportedly haunted by the former slaves that lived and died on the plantation. 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. That seems far more justified than puritannical policing of plantations. Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. Discover the largest house built in Tennessee prior to the Civil War. Even though it is now just 24 acres, many of the important elements remain. Tell Us About Your Experience(s) at Belle Mont. Plantations used for bourgeois ceremonies with language that obscures or even glorifies the estates dark past are one example. This design is derived from the neoclassical architectural style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The Belle Mont Mansion in Tuscumbia Alabama was built around 1828 for physician and planter Alexander Williams Mitchell. Nanyehi was among the first Cherokee to own African-American slaves. But she never mentioned any slave ghosts. 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. Is it not appropriate to celebrate momentous occasions in beautiful places? Blanket from Belle Mont Mansion. Not sure if it did or not but sure does fit. Let us know! This is not a good thing. === A monument was errected in 2008 on the old Henry Courthouse square in Martinsville, VA. . At Belmont, several extended families lived in slavery over the course of several generations. The organization behind this growing movement, Color of Change, indicts vendors for using words like breathtaking to describe plantations. As there is not formal cemetery for the slaves it is likely that they were buried on some part of the estate. 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 site is 1/4 mile west of US 43 South on Cook Lane, three miles south of intersection US 43 and US 72. 68 were here. Being new to the area, none of us knew of the Belmont Mansion or its location. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. No profanity. An Alabama Historical Commission site, Belle Mont was built 1828-1832 and is one of the state's first great plantation houses. 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. Indeed, it was brutal and terrifying. We went back there, and I finished the project, with help from all was involved. 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. 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. Jones says her new title is one she holds . It once stretched over 5400 acres and hosted celebrities, presidents, and countless southern gentlemen. 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. 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. belle mont mansion slaves July 3, 2022 July 3, 2022 July 3, 2022 July 3, 2022. Affordable Nashville Elopements start here! Three years later, during the middle of the. Some visitors say that the building . A variety of factors have made researching the lives of Belmont's enslaved residents difficult. Ninon Parker puts candles out on the table fully set for dinner at Belle Mont Mansion in Colbert County. The answer will always be a mystery. You can imagine me trying to picture my great aunt doing this, haha! 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. Strange are there actually any African Americans who have memories of the antebellum period, given that it ended 160 years ago? 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. It's currently operated as a museum, and tours are available. Group rates available. Clicks to Website: 293 Tickets may also be purchased by credit card by calling the museum at 256-381-5052 or online . 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. 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. 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. "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. Your email address will not be published. Haunted Vacations, Adventures and Mysteries.