It was built for Colonel Alfred Horatio Belo, a Confederate veteran and the founder of The Dallas Morning News.[3] Belo resided here with his wife, Nettie Ennis Belo, his son, Alfred Horatio Belo, Jr. and his daughter-in-law Helen Ponder, as well as his daughter, Jeannette Belo, who married Dr. Charles Peabody.[3] After Colonel Belo died in 1901 and his son died in 1906, his widow lived here with her son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters.[3] After she died in 1913, Helen Ponder Belo and her daughters lived here until 1922, when the Belo family moved back to Col. Belo's home state of North Carolina.[3]
The mansion was leased to house the Loudermilk-Sparkman Funeral Home from 1926 to 1976.[3] In 1977, it was acquired by the Dallas Bar Foundation, the financial arm of the Dallas Bar Association.[3] The foundation restored the mansion, and built an additional pavilion in 2003.[3] It is also used as a venue for weddings, corporate events, and social soirees.[4]
