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. Unlock premium content, ad-free browsing, and access to comments for just $4/month. Its two-story north entrance salon is flanked on either side by a formal dining room and parlor. Now, thats poetic justice. These families included the Baker and Snowden families, among others. This was just word of mouth and may not have been accurate, but Im glad to hear it can be toured. Most Americans know that George Washington owned enslaved people at his Mount Vernon home. Haunted Vacations, Adventures and Mysteries. 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. She said he would come out shooting if he caught trespassers. What county in Alabama had the most slaves? Just one if many weird, cant explain it things that have happened here. Belle Mont's out-buildings are no longer standing, but several foundations, including that of a slave house, have been located by archeologists. It has been referred to as the Isaac Winston House and is listed as Belmont in the National Register of Historic Places and as the Henry B. Thornton Plantation House in the Historic American Buildings Survey. Yes, its true that some historical artifacts across Americas landscape are honored in ways that belittle or demean our fellow countrymen. 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. 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 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. Four bedrooms surround the rear or south courtyard, forming its U-shaped brick exterior. The only way to avoid offending anyone would be to stop celebrating anything, anywhere, at any time. At first you think this is all in your imagination. All information on this page was submitted to Alabama Haunted Houses and was believed to be accurate at the time it was posted. 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. 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. Isaac Winston owned 114 slaves according to the 1860 census and died August 13, 1863 at Bell Mont during the American Civil War. 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. 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 groups who are critiquing the event in Tuscumbia believe historical sites must be honest and respectful. The abandonment of the home was the largest cause of its deterioration and the vandalism that occurred at Belle Mont. 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. Click "thumbs up" if you think its haunted, or "thumbs down" if you think its all just a tall tale. Sold by the Acklen family in 1887, the house went to a developer who began one of Nashvilles early suburbs. Dr. Mitchell and his family of seven were already living in Belle Mont when it was fully completed in 1832. Gradually, the family gatherings became less frequent until the home was completely abandoned. Moreover, the entire country was once the land of American Indians, and a good deal of it deceptively or violently taken from them. Constructed between 1849 and 1860, Belmont Mansion was the home of Adelicia and Joseph Acklen. A tour of this Nashville plantation tells the story . My wife, son (age 5) and I were heading from Muscle Shoals to our home in Littleville after a night of shopping and eating. View all AHC Owned Historic Houses & Museums. Then you maybe talk to family members and realize everyone feels the same way. Jonece Starr Dunigan | jdunigan@reckonmedia.com, hired a black historian to research the site's enslavement history, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. In 1833, the property was bought by Issac Williams, who owned 119 enslaved people by 1855. Plantation Christmas at Belle Mont is held annually the first Sunday in December and features period costumed interpreters, decorations, refreshments, and entertainment. In addition, volunteers from the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation assist as docents for special events and participate in fund-raising activities. 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? Gradually, the family gatherings became less frequent until the home was completely abandoned.The abandonment of the home was the largest cause of its deterioration and the vandalism that occurred at Belle Mont. The Conway family purchased the property in 1670 and it remained in the family for 120 years. 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. 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. Happy haunting! It once stretched over 5400 acres and hosted celebrities, presidents, and countless southern gentlemen. It also reflects the vulnerability of American businesses to the whims of leftist protest movements. Constructed in the 1820s, Belle Mont fell into ruin until the Alabama Historical Commission rescued it in the 1980s. It was the centerpiece of a 1,760 acre cotton plantation and had one of the largest slave populations in the state. 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. 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. Belle Mont Mansion | Tuscumbia AL Many "ghost hunters" have been arrested because they failed to contact property owners and/or local authorities ahead of time. Couple looking at a car in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. The site is 1/4 mile west of US 43 South on Cook Lane, three miles south of intersection US 43 and US 72. Belle Mont Mansion , built circa 1828, is one of the few examples of Palladian-style houses in Alabama. Dr. Mitchell and his family of seven were already living in Belle Mont when it was fully completed in 1832. Admission: Adults $6; students, seniors, military $5; and children 6-18 $3. Your email address will not be published. ?????? complete with original and period furniture, artwork and statuary. He is the author of The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama.
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. Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation, Inc. is the support group in charge of operating the site. The house is listed on the National Historic Registry (#19820223). 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. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Doors open and close. I asked, Do you see him now? in a jested way as I awkwardly half-smile to my wife. First, there is no such thing as a slave plantation. There are cotton plantations, sugar plantations, tobacco plantations, etc., etc., but no slave plantations. Share Your Experience or Comments - Belle Mont. In 1790, John Hipkins purchased the property from the Conway family and in 1791 built Belle Grove for his only child, Fannie. 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. 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. 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. She said that at times, she, and others, would smell a floral scent like a womans perfume and get a cold feeling for no reason as if in the presence of a ghost. I mention this because Gay Mont was his home. 2008-2023 AlabamaHauntedHouses.com. Contextualizing former slave plantations has been a concern across the nation. All rights reserved (About Us). Visitors to the mansion have reported seeing dark shadowy figures walking the fields and have heard the sound of chains rattling near the house. 1569 Cook Lane, Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674 View Map CONTACT Site Director: Ninon Parker Museum: 256- 381-5052 Email: bellemontmansion@gmail.com HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. 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. Their appetites will not be satisfied until all things and persons associated with injustice, real or imagined, are expunged from public experience and memory. Is it not appropriate to celebrate momentous occasions in beautiful places? Belle Mont Mansion, known for its architecture, was built in 1828 for Alexander Williams Mitchell. I dont know any ghost stories but my mother tells a few funny stories. Your CommentsHave a photograph taken from this location? We went back there, and I finished the project, with help from all was involved. 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. Belle Mont was erected in 1828 for a physician from Louisa County, Virginia, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell. As of Thursday morning, Alabama Historical Commission members have not responded to the letter or AL.coms emails and phone calls. It was one of those drizzly unpleasant days, so after a while I went into the Cellar area of the plantation. Its also not as if Dixie estates were the only sites where acts of brutality were committed by one group of Americans against another. You can visit the historic Belle Mont Mansion at 1569 Cook Ln., Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674. Ken is a graphic designer, web developer and co-founder of One True Paranormal, a para-group in southwest Missouri. 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. Use of the directory is at the discretion of the individual. 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. Required fields are marked *. Just outside the city of Tuscumbia, the 700+ acre Cane Creek Canyon Nature . Not sure if it did or not but sure does fit. 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. Her eyes, big as saucers, alarm me. 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. Disclaimer: Alabama Haunted Houses does not endorse or support trespassing to visit real haunts. 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. It is said to be haunted by slaves who died on the grounds and also by former owners. 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. The tell when I was growing up was that the book 13 Alabama Ghosts held a tell from that house. The antebellum plantation experience, as lived by the enslaved, was neither happy nor joyous. 2019 was the year it finally became socially unacceptable to use a historic plantation as a wedding venue. Belle Mont is located south of Tuscumbia in Colbert Couty in northwest Alabama. Related Videos Video #1 Jones says her new title is one she holds . 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. One was a bluish light, the other one looked golden. 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. However, while living in Belle Mont and planting the surrounding acres, Dr. Mitchell housed 152 slaves in 13 slave cabins on the property. 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. 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. 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.