Near Homesite of Belle Boyd

(1844 - 1900) Famous as a Confederate spy during the Civil War, Marie Isabella Boyd resided at a stately colonial mansion near this site in the 1880s. One of the most effective of spies, the slender, blonde girl was only 17 when the Civil War began in 1861. Her passionate devotion to the South and to chivalry indirectly started her career when, in a fit of rage, she shot and killed a Union soldier who threatened her mother. While briefly confined at her Georgia estate, Belle was kept under watch by Federal officers, but so charming and friendly was she that they unwittingly divulged many secrets-- which soon found their way into Confederate hands. Her activities led to several prison sentences and finally exile from the United States. In England Belle married S. W. Hardinge, a Union naval officer of southern sympathies. They had one daughter. After Hardinge's untimely death, she returned to this country to become famous again, as a lecturer and a dramatic reader. In New Orleans in 1869, she married noted businessman J. S. Hammond. With their three children they later moved to Dallas, where they lived for some time. In 1884 they were divorced and in 1887, Belle sold this house. She died in 1900.

Near Homesite of Belle Boyd is a historical marker in Dallas, Dallas County, dedicated in 1969. It is one of 352 historical markers documented in Dallas County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 574 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.7734, -96.7886 near Dallas. The nearest cataloged historic site is Cherokees in Dallas (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Dallas Heritage Village, Browder Springs, and Old City Park.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5113006599. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.