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Belle Mont is a Palladian-style mansion in Alabama, managed by the Alabama Historical Commission. It was built for a cotton plantation owner and became one of the largest slaveholders in the South. The mansion fell into disrepair and was eventually donated to the Commission in 1983. It has been refurbished to look like it did in the 19th century and is open to the public for tours and events. Many exhibits are interactive, and school trips are popular.
Belle Mont is an early 1800’s mansion located in the northwest corner of Alabama, a state in the American South. The mansion has both architectural and cultural significance and is on the US National Register of Historic Places. Although it was once a private residence, the house is now managed by the Alabama Historical Commission. The commission restored the palace and furnished it with period pieces appropriate for its 19th-century heyday. It’s open to the public, and tours and exhibits are offered year-round.
Architectural scholars believe that Belle Mont is one of the only true examples of Palladian-style architecture in the American South. The Palladian style originated in Italy, but became popular in the United States thanks to the innovations of President Thomas Jefferson. Many pundits draw distinct parallels between Belle Mont and Monticello, Jefferson’s sprawling home in Charlottesville, Virginia. It has been suggested that architects who worked at Monticello may have had a hand in the design and construction of Belle Mont. It is believed by some that Jefferson himself had a hand at least in drafting the original drawings.
The mansion was built for a Virginian who established a cotton plantation around the house. He quickly became one of the largest slaveholders in the South. The mansion was flanked by a large number of slave housing estates and is believed to have been home to many generations of slave families in the early part of the 19th century.
Belle Mont fell into disrepair and changed hands numerous times in the years following the Civil War. Part of that is due to its huge operating expenses, as well as the costs involved in bringing the house up to modern standards. The mansion was eventually donated to the Alabama Historical Commission in 1983.
Commission staff immediately set to work to raise funds for a complete refurbishment. Modern fixtures such as plumbing and electricity were kept to a minimum in an effort to remodel the home as it would have looked in its early days. Most of the slave houses became completely dilapidated and were demolished, but the Commission contracted with archaeologists who were able to excavate the original foundations for many of the structures. These too have been rebuilt to get very close to how they would have looked and felt a long time ago.
The ongoing renovation and maintenance costs are financed at least in part through admission fees. Belle Mont is open to the public for tours, exhibitions and special events. It is one of many American museums that seeks to recreate history, allowing visitors to step back in time and imagine having lived in the period represented by the interior rooms and furnishings. Most curators at these types of museums dress in the style of the original residents.
Belle Mont hosts a variety of events outside of the regular tours. Candlelit dinners, charity events, nature walks and Christmas balls are among the many uses of the space. School trips are also popular. Museums and children tend to get along at Belle Mont, where many of the exhibits are interactive. Children are welcome to enter many of the different rooms and questions are always welcome.
