Nomination Form
One of Virginia’s landmarks of Federal architecture, Belle Grove was erected in 1794-97 for Maj. Isaac Hite, Jr., a Revolutionary War officer. Hite was married to Nelly Conway Madison, sister of James Madison. During the planning of the house, James Madison wrote Thomas Jefferson requesting assistance. Though Jefferson suggested refinements, the house at Belle Grove is more in the spirit of the Adam-inspired Federal architecture than Jefferson’s Classical Revivalism. This is particularly evident in the interior woodwork which has Adam-style details copied from Pain’s British Palladio (1786). Civil War activity here culminated in the battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864, when Union Gen. Philip Sheridan’s counterattack effectively ended the Valley campaign in favor of the North. Belle Grove served as Union headquarters. A century later, Francis Welles Hunnewell bequeathed the Belle Grove property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park was established in 2002.
[NRHP Listed: 12/19/2002]
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Nomination Form
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
