The official site for Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
From Backcountry to Breadbasket to Battlefield -- and Beyond
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park preserves and interprets key historical sites and events related to the American Civil War and the rich cultural heritage of the Shenandoah Valley. This includes the Battle of Cedar Creek, a decisive October 19, 1864 Union victory, and Belle Grove, the antebellum plantation manor house of Isaac Hite, Jr. (brother-in-law of President James Madison).
A Partnership Park
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP is a "partnership park," in which the National Park Service works with several Key Partners to create and manage the park and its resources. These Key Partners are all non-profit or governmental organizations and include:
•The National Trust for Historic Preservation
•Belle Grove, Inc.
•Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
•Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation
•Shenandoah County, Virginia
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP is also a park-in-development, created by Congress in 2002. Although there are over 3,700 acres within the park's authorized boundary, over half of this is still privately owned. Therefore, much of the battlefield is not accessible to the public. Nearly all of the remaining land (approximately 1,400 acres) and buildings are preserved and administered by the Key Partners.
