The Belle Meade Plantation Curator's Corner

A historic treasure comes to Belle Meade.

2011-05-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

A simple and understated red leather easy chair has been recently given to Belle Meade. The chair doesn't look like anything of great significance until you know its story...
Howell E. Jackson was an astute political figure in Washington for many years. He served as United States Senator, United States Circuit Court Judge, and in 1892, President Harrison submitted Jackson's name for consideration to fill a seat on the United States Supreme Court. Jackson took his seat on March 4, 1893.

The aforementioned red leather easy chair was used by Justice Jackson in the Supreme Court Chamber until his death in 1895 at which time the chair was moved to his Nashville home and it would remain with descendants of the Jackson family until it was given to Belle Meade only a few weeks ago.

we are proud to have such a valuable piece of American history in the Belle Meade collection.

Springtime comes to Belle Meade

2011-04-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

Each Spring, the Hardings and Jacksons hosted their annual yearling sale. Horsemen from around the country came to spend the afternoon, enjoy a barbecue lunch and purchase high quality thoroughbreds.
The largest crowd ever seen at a yearling sale came in the Spring of 1881. Over 1,000 were in attendance. General Harding was described as looking better than he had in several years. The farm was praised as having "an air of tidiness taste about the fences and gateways and bridges." The paddocks were well kept and the meadows clean of undergrowth and weeds.

Captain P C Kidd was the Auctioneer for the afternoon and Bob Green took his usual position as Head Hostler. The yearling crop included the last get of Bonnie Scotland and the first of Great Tom. Thirty-four yearlings brought $38,530, an average of $ 1,133.23 per yearling.

Sale Barn c.1900

The highest priced yearlings sold were brothers of Luke Blackburn and Glidelin, both the joint properties of General Harding and James and A C Franklin of Sumner County Tennessee. The Dwyer Brother bought a Luke Blackburn colt for $7,500. The sale was on of the most successful in Belle Meade history.
Luke Blackburn and groom c.1900.

"The Long Ordeal" Returns to Belle Meade.

2011-02-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the beginning of our Civil War, The focus of tours and some education programs will be on how the Harding family dealt with the "Long Ordeal" from 1861-1865.

Our Interpreters are dressed in 1860s fashion and will be telling the story of how the Harding family and their slaves survived the occupation of Nashville starting in 1862, The plunder of the Belle Meade Farm by Union troops, The arrest of General Harding and his imprisonment, and the Battle of Nashville in 1864.

Artifacts from our collections will be on exhibit including 1860s clothing and documents pertaining to the Civil war at Belle Meade.

This spring, local youngsters will discover what life was like for soldiers during the Civil War when they take part in education programs at Belle Meade.

Visit Belle Meade Plantation this year and be a part of our commemoration of one of the major conflicts in American History.

No winter doldrums here!

2011-02-04T11:56:00.000-08:00

   I love this time of year at Belle Meade. When the last of our Christmas festivity is packed in boxes, I am ready to clean, polish, and reorganize.We may have fewer visitors this time of year but, the mansion is still bustling with activity. The double parlors are being spruced up with a fresh coat of paint, the third floor of the house is being restored, and the Collections department is preparing for a big move.
   The parlors boast a delicate paint scheme of pale blue and pink. They were considered quite feminine and "French" in the late 19th Century. The Jackson family had a very elegant home in the 1880s and 1890s and the parlors were quite fashionable. The one thing they likely never expected is that over a Century after they lived in the house, thousands of visitors from around the world would traipse through their elegantly decorated rooms. The mansion does receive a great deal of wear and tear with tours almost every day of the year and the parlors have for some time needed a sprucing up. The repainting should be completed by the end of next week and the rooms should be worthy of praise by Mrs. Jackson herself once they are finished.
   A major transformation is occurring on the third floor of the house. Before last year, the third floor held two massive heating and cooling units and a great deal of duct work. When the new geothermal system was installed a few months ago, all of that disappeared.The two rooms on the uppermost level of the house are now being restored with new bracing for the walls and ceiling, new plaster, lighting, and new paint.
   Once all of the work is complete, the Collections Department will be relocating to the two rooms along with all artifacts currently in storage. Many of the artifacts in the collection are only seen by the public briefly during certain temporary exhibits. These include our massive textile collection. Our textiles are very fragile and they are only briefly exposed to light during special exhibits and are then quickly removed to storage. This collection will be stored on the third floor along with our photograph and document collections.
   The rooms currently used by the Collections department are slated for restoration next. They are two maids bedrooms on the second floor of the kitchen house. Once completed, these spaces will become classrooms for visiting school groups.
   We have remained open to guests all of this time so if you are planning a visit, don't worry, We are ready to take you on a tour. You can see some of the many changes going on in the house for yourself.

My favorite things

2011-01-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

There are some objects that by their very nature become windows into history and two albumentype photographs in the Belle Meade collection are perfect examples. The images were created by John Wood Dodge in 1857 of General Harding and his wife, Elizabeth. Dodge photographed and painted images of many elite Nashville families throughout the mid to late 19th Century.
The images of General and Mrs. Harding are the earliest photographs we have in the Belle Meade collection and they make the viewer feel as though they are looking directly into Dodge's studio with it's painted backdrops, swagged draperies, and prop furniture. while gazing at the images, the viewer can see Mrs. Harding's velvet bodice trimmed in fringe, her voluminous skirt, and a small miniature portrait of General Harding pinned to a ribbon at her collar. The miniature was created by Dodge as well. General Harding is seated and posed as a genteel Southern Gentleman with his starched white shirt and collar, his dark coat and fitted long trousers.
The images make me feel as though I am staring at a brief moment in the long forgotten past.

2010-12-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

May the spirits of the past wrap their arms around you and bring peace this Holiday Season.

Merry Christmas!

Christmastime is here!

2010-11-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas exhibit in the Belle Meade Mansion is now open and the house is decked out in its holiday finery. This year, the mansion is set for the 1883 holiday season. General and Mrs Jackson finished a major renovation that year adding plumbing, running water, new paint and wallpaper to all the rooms in the house. They settled down for a quiet holiday at home with their family once all the work was completed.

Visit Belle Meade this holiday season and see how the Jackson family celebrated Christmas in 1883.

Christmas is coming!

2010-10-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

Our Christmas exhibit will make its debut on November 6. The Mansion will be decked in its holiday finery until January 2,2011. Here are pictures of past Christmases.

Ghosts!

2010-10-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

As the days get shorter and the leaves on the trees begin to turn red, gold, and orange, a mysterious feeling begins to fall on Belle Meade Plantation.
Visitors arrive on tours and say, "Are there ghosts here?" "Is this place haunted?" "Have you experienced anything wierd in the Mansion?"
I think that if a person believes in something they make it exist.Even if it exists only in their own mind. I also believe that people put a mark on places that they hold dear and maybe that mark stays long after they are gone. Is Belle Meade haunted? I really don't know. But when I walk the halls early in the morning and hear a baby cry or a lady giggle or I smell coffee brewing, Am I imagining it or does it really exist?

What do you think?

Belle Meade has a new addition to its collection.

2010-10-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

A gilt dore bronze plaque of Iroquois and Fred Archer was recently acquired by Belle Meade Plantation. The bronze plaque is mounted on dark velvet in a grained wood frame. The piece is one of many produced after Iroquois’ 1881 Epsom Derby victory in England. Upon his return to the United States, American factories produced lithograph prints, figurines, bolts of cloth, and tableware all bearing the image of the great Iroquois.

The Jackson family collected several pieces of Iroquois memorabilia and this recent acquisition will be a perfect addition to the Belle Meade collection.

Spend your Sunday afternoon at St. Cecilia

2010-09-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, September 26, St Cecilia Academy is hosting a heritage day celebration honoring its 150th anniversary. The event is free to the community and the Belle Meade Plantation Education staff will be there too. General Harding's daughter, Mary Elizabeth Harding, Attended the Academy in the 1860s making her one of its first graduates.
For more information, visit the St. Cecilia website at, www.stcecilia.edu/.

My Favorite Things- the second Installment

2010-08-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am personally fascinated by items that carry such a personal connection with their former owners.That is precisely the case with a leather bound music book in the Belle Meade collection.
Elizabeth McGavock married William Giles Harding on a cold winter day in 1840. Her father, Randal McGavock, a former Mayor of Nashville, held quite a reception for his guests following the marriage of his daughter to one of the city's most elite gentlemen. Following the party, the new Mrs. Harding came to live at Belle Meade. She was known to be an accomplished musician and Harding said himself that she had a voice to rival that of Jenny Lind. Elizabeth brought her leather bound music book to her new home. The book contained favorite sheet music she collected throughout her teenage years. Some pieces are romantic ballads, some are celebratory marches, and some are beautiful pieces written in her own hand. Following her death in 1867, the book descended in her family until it came back to Belle Meade in the 1980s.

The book now rests on the piano in the rear parlor as it did so many years ago.

My favorite things...

2010-07-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Periodically, I will post information on a specific object in the Belle Meade collection that I am personally fond of. Here is the first installment...

Usually I am alone when I enter the mansion each morning. As I pass through the building turning on lights, I hear the light ticking of the marble clock in the dining room. It is a quiet reminder of the amazing history of Belle Meade. I can imagine the same clock making the same sound on the same mantle over a century ago and it gives me chills. General and Mrs Jackson likely purchased the clock in the 1890s during their second renovation of the house. It was donated by descendants and unfortunately did not work until two years ago. Following repair and cleaning by the Nashville Clock Company, It runs and chimes just as it did when the Jacksons bought it. The ticking of the clock is a reminder to me that the past is never gone, it continues with each generation caring for it and preserving it.

It's Hot!

2010-07-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

The more I read letters,newspaper articles, and other documents pertaining to the history of Belle Meade, the more I understand that some things never change. The summer heat this year has been oppressive and it seems to have been the case over a Century ago.
General William Giles Harding was imprisoned at the old fort on Mackinaw Island in Michigan throughout most of 1862. Governor Andrew Johnson had sent several of Nashville's elite Confederate supporters there in the spring. Harding's wife Elizabeth penned letters to him constantly during his incarceration.

On July 12th she wrote,

" Mag and myself have just returned from town, having endured one of the hottest days in two years; at least Major Graham told me, day before yesterday, was the hottest, in that time, and I am sure today is much more sultry. The thermometer stood at 98 in the shade, 90 in your father's back gallery, and in the sun 100 and upward, whew, the thought makes me perspire. A spare breeze from Mackinaw would be welcome indeed. If we accustomed to it all our lives, feel the heat so sensibly, how do imagine the federal soldiers, from the north-west endure it? Not patiently, or healthfully, I should judge, as I saw one faint, on his post today, on College Street, and another so near it, he was taken to the hospital."

New technology comes to Belle Meade... Once again.

2010-06-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

This spring and summer, a new geothermal heating and cooling system will be installed in the mansion. The current HVAC units are antiquated and are causing damage to the building and collections. The new system will keep the mansion at a constant temperature and humidity level which is perfect for the preservation of a building and priceless antiques. The duct work in the mansion’s attic and throughout the cellar will be removed or rerouted to open more usable space. The massive HVAC units will also be removed from the third floor and cellar eliminating the threat of damage to the building and artifacts.

Excitement over new technology is nothing new at Belle Meade. In 1883, General and Mrs. Jackson had a new plumbing system installed in the house. It featured a steam engine in the cellar which pumped water from nearby cisterns into a tank on the upper floors. A new copper boiler was added to the kitchen stove providing forty gallons of hot water for bathing and washing. The running water was featured in a Nashville American newspaper article which stated the house was all new from “garret to cellar.”

We believe the Jackson family would be quite proud of this new technology that is being added to their house.

If you would like to support this monumental project, contact our Development department at 615-356-0501.

All is back to normal...

2010-05-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Over the past weeks much work has been done to clean up damage from the recent flood. The stone walls around the Plantation have been repaired, A section of the front drive that washed away has been restored, The mansion cellar has been cleaned out and dried, and all seems to be back to normal around here...

However, one thing is not back to normal, our visitation.Since the floods, our visitors are fewer and fewer. Please tell your friends and family that we are open for business. The restaurant is serving lunch daily, the shop is filled with new merchandise, and the mansion is waiting for interested guests.

If you haven't visited in some time, this may be your opportunity. Our visitors and patrons are a driving force in the success of Belle Meade Plantation so please come visit soon.

Belle Meade Plantation has weathered yet another storm!

2010-05-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

As I drove in to work on Monday morning, I had no idea what to expect. I had received phone calls alerting me to the flooding and damage but I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself. Driving up Harding
Pike, century old rock walls lay in ruin and the main drive to the mansion had portions missing and washed away. I couldn't turn on my usual route down Leake Avenue because portions of the neighbors parking lot were strewn across the road. I turned on Harding Place and began my journey to work the back way. I parked the car in the staff lot and walked to the mansion. Peering down into the open basement doors, I saw several feet of standing water with old doors and windows floating. My heart sank. No one ever expects these things to happen and when they do, we are devastated.

I always look back to the past to deal with life's difficult situations and the history of Belle Meade is full of the same types of disaster we are dealing with now. The spring of 1850 was a tumultuous one. As General Harding's daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born, hail and high waters flooded the Richland Creek and the front gate. In March of 1875, the creek flooded again and repairs were made to the front fence, the bridge, and stone walls as most were washed away. In the spring of 1883, just before the annual yearling sale, General Harding could not open the front gate due to flooding.

The people of Belle Meade survived storms over a Century ago and we will do the same. All this week, the Belle Meade staff and many wonderful volunteers have cleared roads, removed trash, and have helped me remove debris and artifacts from the mansion's basement. We will rebuild and thrive just as our predecessors did many years ago.

The mansion basement is now clear, the stone walls are being rebuilt, and visitors are once again roaming the grounds around the mansion.

I want to thank all who have given their time and resources to secure the successful future of Belle Meade Plantation.

Thank You.

Springtime comes to Belle Meade Plantation

2010-03-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

The coming of spring was a time of great anticipation for the Jackson family and their staff. The long dark days of winter were giving way to blossoming daffodils in the fields, newborn colts in the stable yard, and long, warm, sunny days.
The Nashville newspapers in March featured advertisements for the new spring fashions just in time for Easter Sunday Church services. Mrs. Jackson and her daughters purchased fashionable gowns and millinery for upcoming social events including wedding receptions, barbecues, and trips to the races.
General Jackson began to prepare the sale catalogs for the upcoming spring yearling sales. He worked with the rail lines to ensure safe passage of his stock to New York for the sales. Clients from around the country would begin to make their journeys by rail to see the new Belle Meade thoroughbreds.
In preparation for the spring season, the Belle Meade domestic staff began to open the mansion’s huge doors and windows to bring in crisp spring air. The entire house was cleaned from top to bottom in anticipation of springtime guests. Fresh flowers from the garden and greenhouse graced the rooms in the mansion to welcome visitors.

Visit Belle Meade Plantation and see how the family and their staff prepared for the upcoming busy spring season in the 1890s. See the house graced with spring bouquets, a family dinner of tongue and squab in the dining room, and beautiful antique 1890s fashions in the bedrooms, some never before seen by visitors.

Love and Romance at Belle Meade Plantation...

2010-01-25T08:40:00.001-08:00

General William Hicks Jackson had a very romantic side to his personality very few people recognized during his lifetime. His devotion to his wife, Selene Harding Jackson, was unwavering. Her health began to fail with the birth of their first child in 1869. She developed an asthmatic condition that eventually took her life in 1892. Several attempts were made to better her health and in 1879, She moved to a spa in Colorado Springs upon the advice of her physician that the mountain air would help her breathing. Selene was in Colorado for a year while her lovesick husband was home at Belle Meade. He wrote to her many times during their separation. A letter he penned on their wedding anniversary in 1879 summed up his affection for his beloved wife.

" ... and as for your dear self, I can truly say that my love for you is deeper and more earnest than the day we were married, for then it was based on first impression of your beauty, vivacity and sprightly conversational powers, but after living with you for eleven years, I find underlying the whole of these --- principle true and unswerving--- Christian witness of the highest possible order. And on this earth he or she who could not get along pleasantly with you, could not get along with the angels in heaven. You admire Eunice for her graces and gentle qualities and thinking power. And so do I. She draws them from you for she is just like you. may the blessings of God the Father and his Son, our Savior, guard, protect and keep you in health and unite us again to live together to a ripe old age is the prayer of my heart..."

General and Selene Jackson following their 1868 wedding.

Here are some images of Christmas 2009...

2009-12-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

Debut of Our Christmas exhibit

2009-11-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

Its officially Christmas time at Belle Meade!

Our New exhibit, "A Celebration of a Century, Christmas,1899" opened on November 6 with rave reviews. The mansion is more beautiful this year than it has ever been. New 1899 evening dresses were made by the ladies at Lavender's Green historical clothing and they are so elegant.
The exhibit will run until January1, so come out and visit.

New additions to the collection!

2009-10-26T08:35:00.001-07:00

Two mid Nineteenth Century chairs were recently donated by the Bagwell family of Nashville. The maple chairs are in a bow back Windsor style and are equipped with springs below the caned seats allowing the sitter to comfortably recline. The pair have been added to General Jackson's study and are a great addition to the collection.

Thank you Bagwell family for the generous gift.

On this day in Belle Meade history...

2009-10-03T15:41:00.001-07:00

After the Tennessee Centennial exposition closed on September 30, 1987, General William Hicks Jackson had two elks that he had purchased moved to the Belle Meade deer park. The elks, a buck named Ben Yaka, that stood nearly 16 hands high, and a female named Nellie had been attractions in a midway show. General Jackson promptly named the bull elk "Tommy."

General Jackson and other Centennial Exposition board members in 1897.

On this day in Belle Meade history... A day late...

2009-09-28T08:21:00.001-07:00

On September 27, 1897, A granite monument was erected at Belle Meade farm honoring the famed horse, Enquirer. Attending the cremony were nearly 400 people from 15 states. The Cincinatti Enquirer Household Club and a number of Nashvillians left the Centennial grounds in Nashville at 3pm for Belle Meade where William Harding Jackson served as host. After Weber's Band of Cincinnati played for the crowd at the sundial on the front lawn of the mansion, the crowd proceeded to Enquirer's paddock. There, a writer for the Cincinnati newspaper gave an address. In his remarks, he called the monument the "Most enduring tribute to a dumb animal to be found in this country." At the Centennial grounds that evening, there was a fireworks display in which a picture of Enquirer was " shown in fire."

Images of the refurnished rooms in the Harding cabin

2009-09-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in a previous post that the refurnishing of the original cabin at Belle Meade is complete.The newly furnished spaces allow for two very important stories in the history of Belle Meade to be told. I wanted to include some images to give you an idea of what the space looks like now and to give you the opportunity to see the setting for these stories.

One story is that of a planter family living on the Tennessee frontier the early 19th Century.

Another is the story of a once enslaved couple working and living on the Belle Meade farm at the dawn of the 20th Century.

On this day in Belle Meade history...

2009-09-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

John Harding, founder of the Belle Meade farm,
died on this day in 1865 at the age of 87. His only surviving son,
William Giles Harding, inherited Belle Meade.
With his inheritance and other assets,William became one
of the wealthiest farmers in Nashville.

On this day in Belle Meade history...

2009-09-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

On September 9, 1832, Nathaniel Adams McNairy Harding, son of William Giles and Mary Selena McNairy Harding, was born. He was named for his maternal Grandfather, Nathaniel Adams McNairy.

Mary Selena McNairy Harding 1835

The refurnishing and reinterpretation of the Harding cabin Summer 2009

2009-09-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

For many years, the original cabin at Belle Meade has been used as a vehicle to interpret the lives of the Harding family living on the Tennessee frontier between 1807 and 1819. Little is actually known of the domestic lives and material culture of the Harding’s during this period.Thus, the building has been traditionally furnished as a typical rustic frontier cabin. Throughout the summer of 2009, the interior of the cabin was transformed to reflect a new interpretive goal for the space. The east room, believed to be the older room in the building, was refurnished to better reflect the lifestyle and social class of the Harding family in 1807, when John Harding purchased the property. Another interpretive component was added with the furnishing of the west side of the building to reflect the year 1900. This addition allowed for the interpretation of Bob Green, the head hostler, and his family during their lengthy residence.

These two furnished spaces allow visitors to see the changes that took place as nearly a century passed. The Harding family would have known a home that was likely only a few years old when they occupied it in 1807. Bob Green and his family would have seen the cabin as an old house that had endured a century of wear.

On this day in Belle Meade history...

2009-08-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

On September 1, 1862, Colonel William Hicks Jackson's 7th Tennessee Cavalry endured a great loss with 179 men killed and 100 wounded in a fierce battle gainst Federals on a quiet country road named Britton Lane near Jackson,Tennessee. The Federals, consisiting of Illinois and Ohio troops, suffered losses of 5 killed, 51 wounded, and 52 mising.

Welcome!!

2009-08-31T08:58:00.001-07:00

Main drive at Belle Meade c.1900