Just Interesting...

[L Verge]

I apologize to Roger for taking up more space on the forum with a bit of history on Belle Grove, which I consider one of the most beautiful old homes I have ever visited. As a young child, my parents and I often passed Belle Grove and its wonderful little Episcopal chapel and graveyard that sits right by Rt. 301 South. Dad was stationed twice at Langley and visits home to T.B. took us right past the site. The house was at the end of a long, tree-lined drive and difficult for me to see -- and Dad was hesitant to drive up the lane to sneak a peak (something that my mother and grandmother did lots of times in the good old days when you didn't expect to get shot...).

My chance to see the house came unexpectedly about 1978 or 79, when my husband, daughter, and I were with two other couples and children in an RV en route home from a CW reenactment in Virginia. As we crossed over the bridge from Port Royal, I convinced the driver to make a left turn and go up the driveway of the mansion. The drive leads to the carriage entrance - the back of the house and the main garden area at that time. As we stopped, an elderly lady emerged from a flower bed and came towards the RV. We expected at least a reprimand and orders to depart. However, this grande dame was very happy to have company. We chatted and she invited us all (kids, too) into the house!

Only she and one son still lived there, but there was another son who was visiting from his usual abodes in Europe. While still very grand, it was obvious that the home needed TLC and money. The money had once been there, for our hostess was Mary Hooker, the daughter of a magnate in the iron ore business and the widow of a real estate mogul from Chicago. The minute we entered the main hallway, we saw silver everywhere. Read the link that I will post on the history of the place and especially during the ownership of the Hookers, and you'll see why. Mary Hooker was a collector of antique silver and an authority and speaker on the subject, especially pieces of English silver.

Mrs. Hooker took us all through the downstairs and then headed up the stairs. This was a shock, because few owners let folks upstairs to their private quarters. I think the visiting son, who was caught bare chested while doing his exercises, was also shocked that Mom was leading strangers through the bedrooms. It was also quite obvious in the way he spoke to his mother that he was just waiting for her inheritance. And yes, there was still silver everywhere - from vases, to candlesticks and candelabras, plates and platters, tureens.

Back downstairs, if we passed by one of those silver, covered platters and tureens, we passed a dozen. What was so amazing was that our children were so mesmerized by it all that they were perfect little angels. You know there is something to be said about raising children around antiques and nice things; they learn to appreciate them and consider them part of their lives. Sometimes, my daughter was actually bored going through antique shops because she had better things to look at at home (and I don't mean to be a braggard).

We were there for over an hour, and as we entered our large "carriage," Mrs. Hooker invited us to come back. Unfortunately, we never did, and this wonderful woman of the genteel, bygone eras passed away in 1981. And, yes, after a number of years on the market, the son sold to a corporation. There were plans for it to be a country club and golf course for awhile (those plans may still be on the books), but a military family staked their fortunes on a lease and have created a wonderful rebirth of this fine old home that can hold its own with any of the great Virginia plantation homes.

https://www.bellegroveplantation.com/history/

P.S. I sure hope someone hems Mary Todd's skirt before the wedding. I know that the grass is affecting the true length, but I can see the toe of her shoe going right through that lace trim at the bottom. Meow...