It was built by Joseph and Adelicia Acklen to serve as the center of their 180-acre summer estate in what was then country outside the city, and featured elaborate gardens and a zoo.

At Belmont Mansion, the Acklens built, furnished, and landscaped one of the most elaborate antebellum homes in the South, totaling 36 rooms and 19,000 sq ft (1,800 m2).

Covered balconies with cast iron railing and trim surrounded the house to protect windows from the sun.

The zoo featured bears, monkeys, peacocks, singing birds, a white owl, alligators from Louisiana, and a deer park.

Adelicia secretly negotiated agreements with both Union and Confederate authorities to allow 2,800 bales of her cotton to be shipped to Liverpool, England, and sold for a total of $758,000.

While there, she continued amassing her large art collection, including five major marble statues by the most important American sculptors who were working in Rome.

Gilt frame mirrors hang over marble mantels, reflecting the elaborate gasoliers and elegantly furnished parlors.

The Grand Salon is considered by architectural historians to be the most elaborate domestic interior built in antebellum Tennessee.

Many notable visitors to the home include Mrs. James K. Polk, William Walker, Agustín de Iturbide, Dwight L. Moody, Thomas Huxley, and Octavia Walton Le Vert.