Belle Mont Mansion

In 1828, Dr. Alexander Williams Mitchell ordered the construction of the Belle Mont Mansion with a design that was influenced by the neoclassical architectural style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The structure was completed in 1832 and while the architect is unknown, the building was heavily influenced by the architectural designs used by Thomas Jefferson. The house was part of a1680 acre plantation, and records show that 152 enslaved persons lived in thirteen cabins.

The construction of the house began two years after Jefferson’s death, so a common theory suggests that Mitchell built the house to honor the late president while emulating the style of Monticello. Many characteristics of ‘Jeffersonian Classicism’ are exhibited at Belle Mont, including finely executed brickwork, woodwork, and a hilltop setting. Belle Mont also illustrates Jefferson’s reverence for the neoclassical architectural elements and ideas of the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. 

The house was sold to Isaac and Catherine Baker Jones Winston in 1833. The Winstons purchased only a fraction of the original estate, buying only 33 acres of land. The Winston family owned and resided in the home throughout the Civil War. Although Isaac passed away during the war, Catherine continued to run the plantation until her death in 1884. The Winstons held 114 people in slavery according to the 1860 census. The mansion was occupied by the Winston family until the 1940s after which the property mostly sat empty and suffered without maintenance or security.

The Winston family grew concerned about the property and donated The Belle Mont to the state of Alabama in 1983. The Alabama Historical Commission has been restoring the architecturally rare mansion to its antebellum period form, including recovering and restoring wallpaper from the period. The historical society has chosen pieces that display the life of wealthy, white plantation owners in the South. Although the Belle Mont Mansion was preserved, the slave quarters were lost.

Few artifacts that belonged to the slaves can be found inside the preserved mansion. Some of the artifacts that were found include a doll of a young slave girl, some pottery pieces, and other various clothing items. Although these slave quarters are no longer visible from above ground, the pieces that archeologists have uncovered are on display in the home. These artifacts show visitors that although the Belle Mont is a beautiful mansion, the lives of many African- American slaves were not as luxurious as those of the plantation owners. This displays to visitors what Slaves went through to create the infrastructure of the American South.

“Home.” Belle Mont Mansion. Accessed December 19, 2019. https://bellemont.weebly.com/index.html

“Tuscumbia.” Encyclopedia of Alabama. Accessed October 13, 2019. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2164.

Encyclopedia of Alabama. Accessed December 19, 2019. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2985.

Alabama Historical Commissionhttps://ahc.alabama.gov/properties/bellemont/bellemont.aspx

Library of Congress, Historic American Building Survey coverage of Belle Mont (Belmont). https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/al0081/