Gate Post

Attributed to John B. Wickersham, New York Wire Railing Company
ca. 1867

These gates are assumed to be replacements of the original gates that the Union Army used as breast works in preparation for the Battle of Nashville in 1864. The replacements, put in place in 1867, sat at the entrance to the estate at what is now 21st Ave. and Acklen Ave.

The tall post would have flanked the drive and the smaller gates and gatepost would have flanked the large ones. These gateposts are identical (with the exception of the urns on top the tall gateposts) to the gateposts used at Dunlieth in Natchez, Mississippi. Additionally, the pedestrian gates are similar to those at Dunlieth. Belmont’s pedestrian gates have the same arrangement of tall post and flanking side pedestrian gates. John B. Wickersham’s iron fencing was popular throughout the South and may also be seen in Savannah, Georgia; New Orleans; Louisiana; and Montgomery, Alabama [1].

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[1] Israel, Barbara Antique Garden Ornament: Two Centuries of American Taste. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1999), 107.