{"nrhp_refnum":"69000243","name":"Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"On I-81 between Middletown and Strasburg","address_restricted":false,"city":"Middletown","county":"Frederick County","state":"VA","lat":39.02992241800004,"lon":-78.2933431467344,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-08-11","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1969-08-11","areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district near Middletown, Frederick County, Virginia, made up of the Belle Grove mansion and plantation and the surrounding Cedar Creek Civil War battlefield of about 900 acres. The mansion was built in the 1790s for Major Isaac Hite.","why_significant":"Belle Grove was one of the first mansions built in the Shenandoah Valley and was completed for a sister of James Madison and her husband. In 1864 it served as Union General Philip Sheridan's headquarters and was a focal point of the Battle of Cedar Creek. The battle was the last decisive conflict in the Shenandoah Valley, and the Confederate defeat ended their use of the valley as an invasion route or granary.","narrative":"Belle Grove is a dressed limestone mansion near Middletown, Virginia, surrounded by the fields where the Battle of Cedar Creek was fought on October 19, 1864. Major Isaac Hite built the house in the 1790s after marrying Eleanor Conway Madison, sister of James Madison, and some refinements are attributed to Thomas Jefferson. It has one full story over a high basement, stone quoins, keyed flat arches over the windows and four stone chimneys. Hite expanded his holdings from 483 to 7,437 acres. In 1864 the house served as General Philip Sheridan's headquarters. Confederate forces under Jubal Early surprised the Union left that morning, but Sheridan rallied his troops and the afternoon counterattack destroyed Early's army. The defeat ended Confederate use of the Shenandoah Valley as an invasion route or granary. Today the property operates as a farm and educational site, with restored porticoes, surviving earthworks and archaeological excavations.","period_of_significance":"1797-1864","architect_builder":"Major Isaac Hite, builder; certain architectural refinements attributed to Thomas Jefferson","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Belle Grove is an operating farm and center for interpreting rural folk life, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with educational programs and student excavations. The mansion's porticoes have been restored. Some earthworks survive.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.526193-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/27/6790/41679027/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/69000243_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000243/e3d3fd6655-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000243/e3d3fd6655-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"APK","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cedar_Creek_and_Belle_Grove_National_Historical_Park_-_October_2023_-_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">APK</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cedar_Creek_and_Belle_Grove_National_Historical_Park_-_October_2023_-_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679027","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Creek_and_Belle_Grove_National_Historical_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5056652"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/frederick-county/cedar-creek-battlefield-and-belle-grove-69000243/"}