Outstanding Exhibit to Visit Belmont Mansion

The PNJW clothing exhibit will run from September 9th to 12th.  Touring Hours are from 10am to 4pm. Admission for the clothing exhibit is $5 for adults. All students are free with a college ID. The exhibit is included in the $10 regular adult admission for those persons wishing to take a normal house tour. For more information, please call 615-460-5459.

Nashville Opera  and Belmont Mansion are excited to host a sneak preview of the upcoming opera Hansel and Gretel. The festivities will begin on Saturday October 23rd at 10:00 am in the Grand Salon of Belmont Mansion. Kids will meet characters from the show, watch snipets, enjoy refreshments, and make a spooky gingerbread house! Costumes and props will be on display in the Grand Salon.

Tickets are $7.00 per person. Suggested age: 5 and up. Since space is limited, reservations are required. To purchase tickets please Register here or call 832-5242. For additional event information or to read about the 2010-2o11 Nashville Opera season please click http://www.nashvilleopera.org/Special_Events.html

The Ladies Soldiers’ Friend Society and Belmont Mansion are proud to offer the 2010 Southern Civilian Conference on August 20th-22nd.  This three day conference offers a variety of activities, workshops, and social events.

Friday Workshops

8:00 Civil War Christmas Ornaments-$20.00 (1 hr. class)

9:15 Theory Behind Theorem Painting – $35.00 (2 hr. class)

1:00 Gourmet Campfire Cooking $35.00 (2 hr. class)

3:00 Victorian Dance Lessons $12.00 (2 hr. class)

Friday Evening Reception at the Belmont Mansion with Period Attire-Optional

Music by the Coleman Scouts

One Act Play- the Sam Davis and Mary Kate Patterson Story

Free Silhouettes

Conference Notebook

Door Prizes

Vendors

(Period Photographs – additional fee)

Saturday Workshops-Breakfast and Lunch included

9:00 – How They Took Care of Their Clothes

10:25 – Messengers of Death -How News of the Civil War Was Presented to the Public

12:35 – Civilian Dining During the Civil War

1:40 – Lessons in Letters: Creating 1^st Person Interpretation & Programming Using Primary Source Documents

2:50 It’s a Happy Thing to be Obscure: Women and Civilians in Occupied Tennessee

5:30 – Period Item Displays with Show and Tell

Sunday – Breakfast Included

9:00 – Cottage Gardens Are as Individual as the Gardeners Who Create Them

10:45 – - 19^th Century Southern Railroads

Register between July – August 15………………………………………….$145.00

Discounted Student Registration…………………………………………….$105.00

Friday Registration for reception only………………………………………$25.00

Saturday Registration only     ………………………………………………..$110.00

Sunday Registration only…..…………………………………………………….$50.00

Conference Registration form

2010 Southern Civilian Conference Flyer

For additional information or questions please email:

LSFS Conference at MasseyLA@aol.com

History of the Ladies’ Soldiers’ Friend Society
The original Ladies’ Soldiers’ Friend Society was formed on April 22, 1861. It was the first group of women to organize in Nashville after the war started. Mrs. James K. Polk was president and the remaining officers represented many prominent Nashville families. Members were divided into committees to: Superintend Making up Clothing; See after the Wants of the Families of the Volunteers; Superintend the Preparation of Lint, Bandages, Etc.; and to Raise Money. “On motion, all who desired to co-operate with the Society in its labors were requested to give their names to the Secretary, when two hundred and four ladies, being all that were present, immediately enrolled themselves. (The Daily Gazette, 1861)

The Ladies Soldiers Friend Society (Reenacting) Society was formed in 1982 and was originally called the Adelicia Acklen Society and then in 1986 the group changed it’s name to the LSFS. The group strives to give the representation of a 19th century woman from all walks of life as historically correct as possible. “If it can be documented it can be done” is our motto. We host this conference biyearly, a girls camp in the summer, give school programs, workshops, lectures and attend reenactments. We have a men’s auxiliary component. Dues are $15 yearly and $7.50 for the men. We meet every other month stating in Jan. and our newsletter comes out between the meeting months

The holidays are going to the dogs! Belmont Mansion has partnered with Nashville Humane Association to help needy animals in the Nashville area.  Every Monday-Thursday in December bring a can or small bag of dog food or a dog toy and receive (1) free adult admission per item donated to Belmont Mansion.

The Nashville Humane Association is a local, non-profit organization formed to protect the animals of Davidson County. Incorporated in 1946, the NHA is one of  Nashville’s oldest service organizations, tracing its roots back to a society formed in 1887 to protect children and draft horses from inhumane working conditions and mistreatment. Today, the Nashville Humane Association is dedicated to “promoting humane treatment of animals, finding good homes for stray or abandoned dogs and cats, educating the public about their responsibility to help control the pet population, and providing treatment and care to ensure the well being of animals in our community.” For more information about the Nashville Humane Association, please visit www.nashvillehumane.org.

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.