And what do you think we saw?
This June, we unearthed Belmont Mansion’s most elusive hidden treasures: the Bear House and the Bowling Alley/Billiards Building. Tucked beneath the layers of asphalt sitting behind Heron Hall, these two structures went unnoticed for nearly 100 years, providing those who knew of them little more than mystery as to their exact location and design.
That mystery was resolved, however, when curious structures were discovered beneath the construction site of Belmont University’s new dorm, curious structures that turned out to be remnants of the elusive Bear House and Bowling Alley.
An intense archaeological dig ensued that recovered the buildings’ foundations, as well as artifacts and structural materials ranging from Victorian medicine bottles and glazed pottery fragments to pieces of yellow pine floorboard and ochre plaster samples. But perhaps the most intriguing discoveries were those of the reinforced and engineered masonry and sophisiticated waterproofing techniques found on the exterior and interior of the Bear House’s basement. According to Republic, the preservation and conservation group that participated in the excavation, this basement was not just a “brick-lined hole in the ground. There was a designed use.”
Adelicia Acklen, the original mistress of Belmont Mansion, designed and constructed an ornate octagonal house on the property of her estate to house her family’s pet bear. The only structure of its type in the United States, Belmont’s Bear House was based on a garden building from the Chateau de Versailles in France and reflected the classical style of the Mansion. Along with the Bowling Alley/Billiards Building, the Bear House was constructed chiefly for the amusement of the Acklen family and their guests. After the Mansion was sold, these two buildings became part of Belmont College and Seminary, and later Ward-Belmont, before being razed sometime between 1928 and 1932.
On August 13th, a lecture and Q&A session led by Mark Brown, Belmont Mansion’s Executive Director, and Steve Brown, historic preservationist at Republic, were held before an enthusiastic audience interested in the mystery of the Bear House and Bowling Alley. Guests were invited to hear details of the dig and history of the structures while viewing the artifacts discovered in June.