Belle Mina / Woodside

Belle Mina, also, Woodside. . , Marker Front , Thomas Bibb built this grand house in 1826 and named it "Belle Manor" (beautiful home), but local pronunciation altered it to "Belle Mina". The home which stayed in the Bibb family until 1940 was the seat of Bibb's large plantation and furnished the name of the small town nearby. The town of Belle Mina developed around a railroad station intended for the nearby town of Mooresville, the residents of which didn't want it built too close to their homes and business., While serving as president of the Alabama senate, Thomas Bibb ascended to the office of Governor when his brother William Wyatt Bibb, then holding that office was accidentally killed in a fall from his horse. William Wyatt Bibb had been Governor of Alabama Territory 1817~1819 and when statehood was granted he became the first Governor of the state of Alabama., Marker Reverse , Woodside , Another grand house of the Bibb family is located a short distance to the NE across the field. It was built 1860~61 by Thomas' son Porter Bibb as a wedding present for his daughter, Mary C. who married William F. Eggleston. , The Bibb plantation was but one of many in this area. At the federal land sale held at Huntsville in 1818 wealthy planters from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia bought large tracts of land and established plantations here. The terrain and soil here were ideally suited for cotton, the crop that created great wealth. Many brought their household goods, farming gear, and slaves here to begin anew. The grand houses they built, rows of slave cabins and cotton growing for miles around gave this area the look of "Plantation Alley". Belle Mina and Woodside are privately owned and are not open to the public.