Belmont Mansion - What to Know

The Construction of Belmont Mansion

Construction of Belmont Mansion (originally named Belle Monte or Beautiful Mountain) began in 1850 and continued in phases through 1860 using the labor of both enslaved Black people and White contractors.

By the time it was complete, the Italian villa style mansion included 36 rooms and was the largest home built in Tennessee prior to the Civil War. The estate surrounding the mansion encompassed around 175 acres including a water tower (still standing) to irrigate the gardens, a two-hundred-foot long greenhouse and conservatory, an art gallery, gazebos (still standing), a bowling alley, a bath house, and a zoo.

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The People of Belmont Mansion

Photograph of eight members of the Cheatham family

Many lives intersected here at Belmont Mansion. From the Acklen and Cheatham families who lived in the mansion, to the African Americans who were enslaved here, to the the European immigrants who supported the estate's operation. This house stands as testament to their lives and as the place where their stories are recorded and shared.

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The Union Occupation of Belmont Mansion

Tennessee sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. The city of Nashville fell to the Union Army early in 1862 and was occupied through the end of the War. However, in 1864 the Confederates made one last effort to retake the city of Nashville, which resulted in the Battle of Franklin, and the occupation of Belmont by General Thomas Wood of the 4th Corps of the Union Army. The decisive Battle of Nashville that followed effectively ended the Civil War in the Western Theater.

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