Bellevue
By SHERRI SMITH BROWN
Georgia > West Central Georgia > Troup County > LaGrange
Built by Benjamin Harvey Hill in the early 1850s, Bellevue in LaGrange is a National Historic Landmark and one of Georgia’s finest examples of Greek Revival architecture.
There are numerous lovely antebellum homes across Georgia. Bellevue, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1973, is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the state.
Sitting atop a gently sloping hill, the beautifully restored home originally presided over a 1200-acre plantation owned by Georgia orator and statesman Benjamin Harvey Hill. It was built from 1853 to 1855 for his wife, Caroline Holt Hill. Ionic columns grace the wide porticos on three sides of the home. Inside, massive wood cornices around the doorways and large windows were hand carved by slaves. All of the original fireplaces were made of Italian black marble. There are original heart pine floors, carved pediments, and plaster ceiling medallions
The home is furnished in the style of the 1850s. Many donated antiques of the period are on display, including a half-tester bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms. The rosewood piano Hill gave his wife as a wedding present is the only piece of original furniture now in the mansion. Portraits of Hill and Caroline hang in the main drawing room. In the main entry, there is a large oil portrait of the Senator as well.
Senator Hill served in the Georgia Legislature, as Senator for the Confederate States of America from 1862-1865, and as a Senator for the United States of America from 1877-1882. He was considered one of the most influential men in the South during and after the Civil War. When a newspaper reporter asked Jefferson Davis whom he considered to be his staunchest supporter, the President of the Confederacy answered without hesitation, “Benjamin Harvey Hill.” He often visited the Senator at Bellevue along with other prominent men of the day.
Hill was arrested at Bellevue in May 1865 along with Stephen Mallory, Secretary of the Confederate Navy, but returned home after a few months. Bellevue was sold in 1869 to Judge Jesse McClendon and remained in that family until the late 1930s. The house was purchased by the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation and presented in 1942 as a gift to the LaGrange Woman’s Club to be used as a clubhouse. First renovations were completed in the 1950’s, and the house continues to be under the care of the Woman’s Club.
The Bellevue gates, which once stood at the end of the crepe myrtle lined carriage drive, were removed in 1905 to convert the drive to a residential street, now Ben Hill Street. The gateposts now reside at LaGrange College.
Read more about LaGrange, Troup County and National Historic Landmarks in Georgia, and find other activities in the West Central Georgia Travel Region here at Brown’s Guides.
Tags: Ben Hill, Civil War, historic home, LaGrange, National Historic Landmark, Troup County