Just Interesting...

[L Verge]

If you are near Port Royal, Virginia (part of the Booth Escape Route Tours), you would do well to visit Belle Grove Plantation on the banks of the Rappahannock River. Over the past forty years or so, many of us watched the elegant home go downhill as loving owners sold out to developers. It has been saved and restored as a B&B as well as a venue for events and historical reenactments - many related to the Civil War.

The plantation (though not the house) was the birthplace of James Madison. However, it has an extensive history during the time that it stood in the river village of Port Conway (Madison's mother was a Conway) and across the river from the trading center of Port Royal. During the hunt for Booth, members of the 16th NY Cavalry rested briefly on the grounds around the current house, while Everton Conger rested inside. The war-torn officer could barely mount his horse due to old wounds. Meanwhile, less than three miles away, JWB was also resting at the home of the Garretts.

Anyhow, please enjoy the Belle Grove website and take a look at their calendar of special events - including a "July wedding" of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd. (This one will take some liberties, but it is an actual wedding of the two reenactors.)

I am sorry to see that the powerful windstorms we have experienced in this region this past spring did heavy damage to the ancient outbuildings on the property. There is a fundraising campaign to raise $200,000 to save three dependencies.

P.S. I should mention that in September of 2016, the Surratt Society held its fall meeting and luncheon on the grounds overlooking the Rappahannock (delicious food and beautiful place settings and centerpieces) before touring upstairs and downstairs in the main house.

JUST IN! WHILE I WAS TYPING THIS, I REC'D AN EMAIL IN MY WORK FILES:

We are excited to announce we have been invited to Washington D.C. to represent Belle Grove Plantation, birthplace of President James Madison for a very special Presidential Summit on August 27th to August 30th. The White House Historical Association will be hosting this 4-day national gathering of Presidential sites from all over the country. During these four days, we will be attending special presentations as well as behind-the-scene tours of the Library of Congress, the National Cathedral and the White House. It was just announced to us that we will also be attending a very special reception at the White House with President and Mrs. Trump.

We are honored to be included in this Presidential Summit and look forward to not only learning more about other Presidential Sites and some of their “best practices”, but to be able to share our Presidential Site and our county of King George, Virginia with many others. Through this opportunity, we will meet others of greater influence and let them know about Belle Grove Plantation.


https://www.bellegroveplantation.com/calendar