Hite Family Reunion
Belle Grove Plantation is delighted to host the 2022 Hite Family Reunion. Events will begin on Friday, July 22 and continue through Sunday, July 24. Click here for a registration form. The early bird rate deadline is June 1.
The first official event will be an early supper on Friday in the Beverley B. Shoemaker Welcome Center. The last event will end in early afternoon on Sunday. Attendees are also welcome to come early and stay later as there will be time to tour Belle Grove all day Friday and Sunday. During the reunion, feel free to attend as many of the talks or tours as you wish. There will also be time to relax and visit with family and friends.
At Saturday’s banquet, the keynote speaker will be Dr. Marianne Wokeck, Chancellor’s professor emeritus of History at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Her major research has been in the history of the North Atlantic World with a focus on immigration ethnicity, and identity. Since Jost and Anna Maria Heyd/Hite emigrated from the Kraichgau, she will discuss this region in the 17th and 18th centuries. From 1650 to 1750, this area experienced significant change. Some of it because of war and the aftermath of armed conflicts, some of it because of its geographical and political characteristics on the crossroads of traffic and communication in its neighboring territories. Historians have described the Kraichgau as a part of the German Empire that experienced significant in and out-migration. Her presentation will focus on the history of the Kraichgau in those years and highlight what attracted migrants to the region what particular circumstances made relocation seem a risk worth taking.
Sunday before brunch will be the family portrait and after brunch at noon will be the Hite Family Association Business Meeting.
FRIDAY, JULY 22
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10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
Museum Shop Open and Manor House Open for Guided Tours |
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11:30 a.m. |
National Park Service Program Cedar Creek & Belle Grove in Box |
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4:00-5:30 p.m. |
Manor House Open for Self-Guided Tours Enter on front porch |
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2-6 p.m. |
Registration In Museum Shop |
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2-5:30 p.m. |
Genealogy Workshop with Richard Hite Welcome Center Meeting Room |
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5:30-6:45 p.m. |
Welcome & BBQ Supper (reservation and tickets required) |
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7-8:30 p.m. |
History at Sunset program (free) The Jackson Family Story, Shannon Moeck, Ranger, Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park Welcome Center |
SATURDAY, JULY 23
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8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. |
Registration In Museum Shop |
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10 a.m.-4 p.m. |
Museum Shop Open and Manor House Open for Guided Tours |
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10 a.m.-4 p.m. |
Genealogy Workshop with Richard Hite Welcome Center Meeting Room |
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9:00-9:15 a.m. |
Welcome, Kristen Laise, Belle Grove Executive Director Welcome Center |
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9:15-10:00 a.m. |
Hite Family Wills and How to Analyze Family Wills for Your Research Wayne Sulfridge, Belle Grove Docent & Researcher Welcome Center |
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10:00-10:45 a.m. |
Froman Family History: Fact and Fiction by Christopher Coleman Welcome Center |
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10:45-11:30 a.m. |
Mary Briscoe Baldwin: A female missionary who transformed education in Greece and Syria by Jess Pritchard-Ritter Welcome Center |
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11:30 a.m. |
Fort Bowman History by Kristen Laise Welcome Center |
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Noon |
Lunch on Your Own |
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1-4 p.m. |
Hite Family Ancestral Homes open for touring |
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3:30 p.m. |
Kneading in Silence: A Glimpse into the Life of the Hite’s Enslaved Cook Judah—Ranger Shannon Moeck, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park Historic Kitchen Lower Level of the Manor House |
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6:00-8:30 p.m. |
Reunion Banquet (tickets required, cash bar with wine & beer) |
SUNDAY, July 24
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9:30-10:30 a.m. |
Church Service St. Thomas Chapel, 7854 Church Street, Middletown (park on Church Street, 2nd Street, or in lot at Middletown Town Hall at 7875 Church Street) |
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11 a.m. |
Family Portrait Back Lawn |
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11:00 a.m.-Noon |
Brunch (reservation and tickets required) Welcome Center |
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Noon |
Hite Family Association Business Meeting Welcome Center |
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Noon-5 p.m. |
Museum Shop Open and Manor House Open for Guided Tours |
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2:30 p.m. |
National Park Service Program Cedar Creek & Belle Grove in Box, Belle Grove Front Lawn |
To do genealogical research, The Stewart Bell Archives at Handley Regional Library in Winchester is open Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5.p.m. Click here for more information. The Shenandoah Room and Truban Archives at the Shenandoah County Library in Edinburg is open Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Click here for more information.
TRAVEL
If you plan to spend time traveling in the Shenandoah Valley, go to visitwinchesterva.com and www.visitshenandoah.org for ideas.If you need any additional travel information, please contact us.
The Fairfield Inn
33760 Old Valley Pike in Strasburg is about two miles south of Belle Grove, just half a mile away from I-81. It is a Marriot chain hotel that offers a free hot breakfast, free high speed internet, fitness center, and a pool. It is a non-smoking hotel that does not allow pets. See more at here.
They are offering rooms with one king bed, or two queen beds for $169 per night plus tax for Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23. They are also offering a price of $109 for Thursday, July 21 and Sunday, July 24. To receive these rates, book before June 20 and mention you are with the “Hite Family Reunion.” Make reservations by calling 540-465-1600.
Country Inn and Suites
141 Kernstown Commons Blvd in Winchester is 12 miles north of Belle Grove. It is convenient to Route 11 and I-81 and located in the Kernstown Commons shopping area that includes Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and many dining options. The hotel features a complementary hot breakfast, free high speed internet, and a pool. It is a non-smoking hotel that allows pets for $25 per pet per night. See more here.
They are offering rooms with one king bed, or two queen beds at a rate of $124.00 per night plus taxes for Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23. To receive this rate, book before June 22 and mention you are with the “Hite Family Reunion.” Make reservations by calling 540-869-7657.
Other Options
DoubleTree by Hilton Front Royal Blue Ridge Shadows at 111 Hospitality Drive in Front Royal is 10 miles east of Belle Grove. It is newly renovated and has golf course facilities.
Most chain hotels have facilities in Strasburg, Stephens City, Front Royal and Winchester and all are within a 10-30 minute drive of Belle Grove.
