Belle Grove Plantation

Belle Grove is located in the northern Shenandoah Valley near Middletown, Virginia. Its Manor House was built in 1797 by Major Isaac Hite and his wife Nelly Madison Hite, sister of President James Madison. Major Hite, grandson of Shenandoah Valley Pioneer Jost Hite, began the plantation with 483 acres and expanded it to a prosperous 7,500 acre enterprise, growing wheat, raising cattle and Merino sheep, and operating a large distillery and several mills.

Based on design principles of Thomas Jefferson, the elegant Federal era Manor House features intricate, hand-carved woodwork and a restored interior. The house was constructed of native limestone quarried on the property. Currently restored to Belle Grove’s early 19th century elegance, the house is remarkably unscathed despite more than two centuries of turmoil and triumph.

Belle Grove Plantation is a non-profit historic house museum that is a National Trust for Historic Preservation site and a partner in Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. It is located off Route 11 at 336 Belle Grove Road just south of Middletown, Virginia 22645 and is conveniently located to I-81 (use exit 302) and I-66.

Exhibits

At 11:30 a.m., the National Park Service will offer Cedar Creek and Belle Grove in a Box – A Park Overview. A 30 minute program on the history and settlement of the Valley, the Battle of Cedar Creek and the Civil War’s impact. This interactive program uses the surrounding landscape features and props (taken from a box) to “create” the park and tell its many stories. Meet on Belle Grove’s front lawn.

Participation in Museum Day is open to any tax-exempt or governmental museum or cultural venue on a voluntary basis. Smithsonian magazine encourages museum visitation, but is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of the participating museums and cultural venues, and does not subsidize museums that participate.