PP Belle Meade Mansion

Ornament: 4" Diameter 1/8" Thick PVC

The Belle Meade Mansion of Nashville, as pictured in this 1985 limited edition print, was completed in 1853. An earlier home was built on the same site by owner John Harding...but it was his son William Giles Harding who rebuilt and enlarged the structure after a disastrous fire of 1852. The architecture is classified as Greek Revival.

For the last half of the 19th century, this mansion was a mid-Tennessee showplace with many famous people of the time being graciously entertained within the great walls. It was also a "back drop" for the part of the Civil War's Battle of Nashville. As lasting proof, the limestone pillars out font still bear the scars from bullets fired at the mansion.

The beautiful meadow (thus the name "Belle Meade") of the Harding property contributed much to the additional recognition of the plantation (for 67 years) as a successful and widely respected thoroughbred nursery. The stables in back of the mansion were home to many great horses...including Iroquois, the winner of the English Derby in 1881.

Belle Meade is owned, maintained and operated by the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities.