an excellent example of a Nashville plantation from the mid-1800s and is well worth visiting, especially since there is a chance you may meet one of the resident ghosts. If you don’t want to pay the money for the tour but still want to see the building, you are out of luck. They actually charge you to walk the grounds of the mansion as well. If you want to get a glimpse of a ghost here, be prepared to pay.
BELMONT MANSION
1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37212
directions
Near downtown, you can get to the Belmont Mansion from the heart of the city in less than 15 minutes. Simply take Broadway out to 12th Avenue South to Ashwood Avenue. Turn right onto Ashwood Avenue. Almost a half mile down Ashwood, take a left onto Belmont Boulevard. The mansion is on the Belmont University campus and will be on your left.
history
The mansion itself dates back to 1853, and throughout the years of its existence, it has seen its share of pain and drama. Most people believe that the ghost who walks these halls is the ghost of Adelicia Acklen.
Ms. Acklen was known to be quite good at manipulating men, and she used this skill to her advantage often, eventually becoming one of the wealthiest women in post–Civil War Nashville. While most people from the South were impoverished to some extent during the years just after the war, Adelicia flourished and flaunted her wealth without reservation.
Despite her financial luck, she did meet with her own share of personal heartache. Several of her children succumbed to disease and died in the house at very young ages. This completely devastated Adelicia, and she would withdraw from society for long periods of time after each death. Often, it would take her months to emerge from her depression.
During the latter years of her life, Adelicia would often comment to guests that “you can’t take it with you.” In 1887, Adelicia herself died in the mansion. Today, the mansion is the largest house museum in Tennessee and the only such house whose history centers upon the life of a woman.
ghost story
It seems that Adelicia is attempting to defy her own adage and has indeed taken her grand mansion with her into the afterlife—or perhaps she just never left in the first place. All of the activity in this house can be attributed to Adelicia’s ghost.
Most of the ghostly sightings here actually involve a full-figured apparition of Adelicia herself. People will see a woman dressed in a lavish mid-1800s dress walking the halls of Belmont. People will see her all throughout the mansion. Sometimes she is glimpsed at the end of a long hallway before she immediately vanishes. Other times she is seen standing by the windows in upstairs rooms. Once, a woman visitor was walking down a hallway in the building and turned a corner, only to find herself face-to-face with the ghost of Adelicia. Turning around and fleeing in terror, the witness didn’t wait to give the apparition a chance to vanish.
Some say that Adelicia stays at the mansion, waiting for her deceased children to return to her. Others claim that she loved her life and her home so much that she was unwilling to leave. Everyone who has seen the ghost believes that it is Adelicia herself, as permanent a fixture in the area as the house.
visiting
The mansion is closed to the public at night. But this doesn’t mean that it is impossible for you to encounter the ghost of Adelicia Acklen. The mansion itself is a museum, and it is open for tours during the day all throughout the week. From Monday through Saturday, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sunday it is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Guided tours move throughout the house during the day and take about 45 minutes to an hour. These tours are your best chance to explore the building and perhaps catch a glimpse of the famous ghost. Admission to the mansion does cost $10 for adults, but even if you do not catch sight of the ghost, it is well worth the money to see the historic mansion itself.
BUCHANAN LOG HOUSE
2910 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, TN 37214
directions
Nine miles from downtown, the Buchanan Log House sits alongside a busy suburban road. Take I-40 East for about 8 miles to Exit 216C, the Donelson Pike exit. Turn right onto Donelson Pike, and travel for a little more than a half mile. Turn right onto Elm Hill Pike, and follow it for a little more than a half mile. The home will be on the left-hand side of the road. There is a historic marker and a sign by a wooden fence next to the driveway for the log house.
history
This building is one of the older standing structures in the state of Tennessee, having been built in 1809. In 1811, James Buchanan, the builder of the cabin, married Lucinda East, and they began to build a life in the house.
Less than 10 years after they married, James and Lucinda already had 16 children, and the small three-room house did not have nearly enough space to accommodate the family’s growing needs. James then built an extension onto the house in 1820 to help house his large family.
In 1841, James Buchanan died at the age of 78 and was buried across the street at the Buchanan Cemetery. His epitaph concludes with the rather ominous line, “Prepare to die and follow me.” Twenty-four years later, Lucinda’s mortal remains did follow James to the cemetery across the street. Some say that her spirit stayed with the house.
ghost story
It seems that this small log house is still occupied by the ghost of Lucinda East Buchanan. The ghost itself is rarely encountered by anyone who is actually living in the house or visiting but is instead reported by people who are driving by on the adjacent road.
Passersby will report seeing a woman dressed in period clothing sitting on the front porch of the log house. While the rustic and historic appearance of the house does not make the woman look out of place, there is no reason that someone dressed like this would be sitting there. Other witnesses will see a woman dressed in period clothing in the windows of the building, watching the yard and the nearby road.
visiting
It is not a difficult prospect to visit the ghost here at the Buchanan Log House since many of the ghost stories are reported when the witnesses are outside of the house. Driving down the adjacent road and looking up at the house may be your best bet because this is how most of the sightings happen, but the road itself is rather far from the house, and it is very difficult to see the windows from the road. There is a small parking area next to the building where you can park and watch the outside of the house as long as you do so during the day. All of the sightings of Lucinda have occurred during daylight hours.
The building is available for tours on a limited basis. You can call for an appointment to take a tour or you can visit the home on Tuesday or Friday before 4 p.m. during spring, winter, and fall.
CARNTON PLANTATION
1345 Carnton Lane, Franklin, TN 37064
directions
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