Belle Grove Plantation commemorates Juneteenth

Belle Grove Plantation will commemorate Juneteenth National Independence Day with activities throughout the weekend and free admission on the federal holiday, Monday, June 20.

Belle Grove is actively researching and interpreting the African American history of the site and honoring the lives of those enslaved and free. Some of their stories are featured in a monthly newsletter that may be found at virtual.bellegrove.org.

On Friday, June 17, 6:30-8 p.m., Ranger Shannon Moeck of Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park will present Life in the Borderland: The Limits and Possibilities of Freedom for Enslaved and Free Blacks. This 90-minute talk is free of charge and will take place on the front lawn of Belle Grove. It will discuss what the opportunities for freedom were for Shenandoah Valley’s enslaved and free Blacks in the 1800s. How was life for those forced to live under the design of oppression? What possibilities existed in this region, which was so close to free states? The ranger will explore the answers to these and other questions.

On Sunday, June 19, noon-5 p.m., Belle Grove is delighted to take part in the Winchester Area NAACP’s inaugural Juneteenth celebration at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. This free event will have live music, speakers, children’s activities, food trucks, and admission to the MSV galleries and special exhibits.

On Monday, June 20, Belle Grove will be open 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. with free admission. This includes tours of the Manor House and the new, permanent exhibit, Unearthing Enslaved Lives at Belle Grove. It features the archaeology conducted at the Enslaved Quarter Site in 2015-2019. The 60,000 excavated artifacts, and supporting archival research, reveal details about the more than 270 men, women, and children the Hite family enslaved at Belle Grove. They show how these individuals-built lives for themselves, despite the harsh conditions of slavery, and how their labors shaped the economy and history of the Shenandoah Valley.

About Belle Grove
Belle Grove Plantation is located off Route 11 at 336 Belle Grove Road just south of Middletown, Virginia, and is conveniently situated to I-81 (exit 302) and I-66. Belle Grove Plantation is a non-profit historic house museum that is a National Trust for Historic Preservation historic site (www.savingplaces.org). It is also one of the legislated partners in Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park (www.nps.gov/cebe).