Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park — Attraction in Strasburg

Welcome to historic Belle Grove Plantation, the home of Major Isaac Hite and his wife Nelly Madison Hite, sister 33 of President James Madison. Con- structed of native limestone and built between 1794 and 1797, Belle Grove was the social and cultural center of a thriving grain plantation that eventually comprised more than 7,500 acres of land and a workforce of 103 African-American slaves.

Architecturally influenced by Thomas Jefferson, the Manor House features several Jeffersonian innovations including a cross-axial (T-shaped) one-story dwelling over a raised basement. The design of the Manor House also employs both Germanic and English building traditions. Belle Grove still maintains its architectural integrity after more than two hundred years, including its original southern pine floorboards and carved woodwork, and solid oak support structure.

Isaac, Nelly, and their two children lived at Belle Grove until Nellys death in 1802. Isaac later married Ann Tunstall Maury, with whom he had ten children. The home of the Hite Family until 1860, Belle Grove was at the epicenter of the 1864 Civil War Battle of Cedar Creek. Swirling around the Manor House, the battle left bullet holes that are still visible in the front porch columns.

Today, Belle Grove Plantation is an historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is operated by the nonprofit foundation Belle Grove, Inc. Belle Grove and National Trust Memberships, which include a variety of special bene- fits, are available at the Admissions Desk or in the...

This was a really great visit! My honey and I have made it our mission to check out the National Parks sites around us, and this was one we got to check off our list. The drive out here was absolutely breath-taking (being next to Shenandoah, of course it is). The site itself is formed from a lot of partnerships with local organizations, so not everything is free. Most of the offerings are very low-cost, but it is something to be aware of that you may have to pay a bit to get into some things. The official NPS-run portion consists of some individual-led things and a ranger talk at the Belle Grove plantation - we chose to do the walking trail along the battlefield. The picture I've attached is of a massive spider that was on the trail! It is very natural, so make sure you're dressed appropriately and okay with being touched by spiderwebs. There are a lot.

The visitor center/starting point was really lovely. The ranger was friendly as always and gave us a huge range of options to visit. The exhibits inside were really cool and informative - it was really special to see how much history was in this tiny town. This is definitely one if you're interested in Civil War history, but you should also make time to see it due to the area's...

Google Maps takes you to one location, website says to go to the contact station & gives an address, then a 3rd location has a sign that says"visitor center"- it's closed twice a week & has limited hours the rest of the week. Today it was closed. It'd be great if 1 location could be agreed upon so visitors know where to go.

A sign at the visitor center indicates you're meant to buy an info book to learn where the stops are- we didn't, luckily we found a little info online. No good map. One of the stops you're meant to pay an admission fee- park passes not accepted- but that was also closed when we were there.

Yorktown was a much better experience. Cold Harbor at Richmond is also a much...