Belle Grove is located in the northern Shenandoah Valley near Middletown, Virginia. It was the home Major Isaac Hite and his wife Nelly Madison Hite, sister of President James Madison. Major Hite, grandson of Shenandoah Valley Pioneer Jost Hite, used enslaved labor to expand his original 483 acres to a prosperous 7500 acre plantation, growing wheat, raising livestock, and operating a large distillery and several mills. The Manor House, completed in 1797, was the centerpiece of the property and is open for touring today.