Belle Meade Plantation

Belle Meade Plantation, located in Belle Meade, Tennessee, is an historic plantation mansion whose grounds now function as a museum. In 1807, Virginian John Harding bought Dunham's Station log cabin and 250 acres (100 ha) on the Natchez Trace. In the early years, Harding boarded horses for neighbors such as Andrew Jackson, and he was breeding thoroughbreds by 1816. He shipped grain to Charleston and New Orleans, and owned large tracts of land in Arkansas and Louisiana. In 1820, he started to bulild the beautiful mansion in a Greek style. It originally had four rooms. In 1853, the mansion was built by General William Giles Harding, son of the founder. During this time, the Harding family prospered, building their domain into a 5,400-acre...