Taylor Mansion
James Taylor once owned much of what is now Campbell County, inheriting most of the land from his father who had received it from the state of Virginia for his service in the Revolutionary War. Taylor served in the War of 1812 and helped finance American campaigns against Britain and its allies in Michigan during that conflict. Taylor had a large house built in Newport in 1812 by the prisoners from the Newport Barracks, but it was destroyed by fire in 1842.
Articles about the Taylor Mansion Fire
Tradition has it that is
was set by a disgruntled slave. To replace it, Taylor had a new brick
mansion constructed in the 1846-7. He named it "Bellview" and it still
stands at 335 East Third street in Newport and is known as the
Vonderhaar-Stetter-Betz Funeral Home.