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The Old Hall at Belle Grove marker was at Stop Five, Belle Grove, Just west of the Manor house. It has been removed, and is included here for historical information.
Text from the marker
When Isaac Hite, Jr. and Nelly Conway Madison of Montpelier were married in 1783, they received from his father a 48-acre tract that became the centerpiece of Belle Grove Plantation. Old Hall, as it is known today, was already in place at the time.
Until construction of Belle Grove’s Manor House was completed in 1797, Isaac and Nelly made their home in Old Hall and it was here that their children were born.
Old Hall hosted the newlyweds James and Dolley Madison when they visited Belle Grove during their honeymoon in 1794 and it is thought to have housed the older Hite sons and their tutors in the early 1800s. Historical photographs and archeological evidence have shown that Old Hall was a substantial two-story structure set on a foundation that measured about 25 by 40 feet and that it had a steeply pitched roof and a sizeable cellar.
Excavation in the cellar and foundation area brought to light many early 19th-century artifacts, cutlery and ceramic shards, and also found ample evidence of a Civil War campsite which included belt buckles, canteens, and bullets. Only the stone foundation of Old Hall remains.
Caption to the drawing
Drawing by James M. Umstattd
Captions to the photos at bottom left
James and Dolley Madison
Isaac Hite, Jr. and Nelly Madison Hite
with son James Madison Hite
Text at the bottom left
This display is a gift of the Hite Family Association
