Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park became the 388th unit of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

when it was authorized on December 19, 2002. The

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) and National Historical Park (NHP) are designations for officially recognized areas of nationally historic significance in the United States. They are usually owned and managed by the federal government. An NHS usually ...

was created to protect several historically significant locations in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

, notably the site of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Battle of Cedar Creek The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. D ...

and the Belle Grove Plantation. Although there are over 3,700 acres within the park's authorized boundary, over half of this is still privately owned. Much of the battlefield is not accessible to the public, but the park offers ranger-led and self-guided driving tours of the battlefield via public roads. Nearly all of the remaining land (approximately 1,500 acres) and buildings are preserved and administered by partner sites which predate the park. Since summer 2010, the park has offered interpretive ranger programs at key partner sites, including Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation headquarters, Belle Grove Plantation, and Hupp's Hill Civil War Park. The

American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, through the acquisition of battlefield lan ...

and its federal, state and local partners have acquired and preserved of the battlefield through November 2021, some of which has been acquired by the

and incorporated into the park. In 2012, the park acquired land on which sits a monument to the 8th Vermont Infantry and now offers access through semi-regular programs at the site. In March 2013, the park opened a Visitor Contact Station in

Middletown, Virginia Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Virginia, United States, in the northern Shenandoah Valley. The population was 1,265 at the 2010 census, up from 1,015 at the 2000 census. History Middletown was chartered on May 4, 1796. Some of th ...

, featuring interpretive exhibits and information on how visitors can experience the park. The Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove is also a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, and the "Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove" is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and ...

of Belle Grove (1797) is open to the public and operates independently as part of the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

. The listed area is in Frederick County and Warren County.

References

External links

*
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
National Park Service website
Cedar Creek Battlefield FoundationBelle Grove, Middletown, Virginia's, official website
{{authority control National historical parks of the United States National Park Service areas in Virginia American Civil War museums in Virginia Battlefields of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Historic house museums in Virginia Museums in Frederick County, Virginia Parks in Frederick County, Virginia Parks in Shenandoah County, Virginia Parks in Warren County, Virginia National Historic Landmarks in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Warren County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Frederick County, Virginia 2002 establishments in Virginia Protected areas established in 2002 Federal architecture in Virginia Georgian architecture in Virginia Neoclassical architecture in Virginia Palladian Revival architecture in Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia

See also

References

External links