Christmas Candlelight Tickets Now On Sale!

Nov. 18th 2013

christmas card

Belle Grove Plantation
1st Annual
Christmas Candlelight Tours

It is time to make history at Belle Grove Plantation as we celebrate our first Christmas at the plantation! We will be opening our doors to old and young to come and gaze upon this grand mansion and grounds that has seen so many Christmas past.

On Friday, December 6th, 2013, Belle Grove Plantation will celebrate their Official Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting. Come help us not only ring in the season, but celebrate officially opening our doors!

Saturday, December 14th from 5pm to 9pm, Santa arrives at the plantation! The last known visit from Father Christmas to the plantation appeared in the Free Lance Star dating to the 1890s! Come see him return once again and help us celebrate this return to tradition!

Each day, there will be entertainment and warm beverages to help you get into the Holiday Spirit!

Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast will be opening its doors for the 1st Annual Christmas Candlelight Tour for the following dates:

Friday, December 6th and Friday, December 13th
6:00pm to 9:00pm

Saturday, December 7th and Saturday, December 14th
Daytime Tours – 12:00pm to 3:00 pm
Evening Tours – 5:00pm to 9:30pm

Sunday, December 8th and Sunday, December 15th
Daytime Tours – 12:00pm to 3:00 pm
Evening Tours – 3:00pm to 6:00pm

IMPORTANT – This tour requires several stairs. We are sorry, at this time we are not handicap accessible.

Tickets are sold for scheduled times. Please make sure you purchase them for the time you wish to visit.

Ticket Prices:

Daytime Tickets

Adults – $15
Children under 12 – $10
Children under 5 – Free

Night Time Tickets

Adults – $25
Children under 12 – $10
Children under 5 – Free

I am sorry, we do not offer discounts for this event.

Please go to our Online Store to Purchase Tickets!

https://squareup.com/market/belle-grove-plantation-bed-and-breakfast/christmas-candlelight-tours-tickets

Posted by Michelle Darnell | in Belle Grove History, Darnell History | Comments Off on Christmas Candlelight Tickets Now On Sale!

Look Who Stopped By The Plantation!

Nov. 17th 2013

Modern Molasses Cookies the Official Cookie of Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast birthplace of James Madison in King George Virginia at Port Conway

As many of you that have been following us over the last year or two know, we had an Official Cookie Contest last March. It was a wonderful contest and we had some really wonderful cookie recipes offered!

After a very close race and the public vote on Facebook, it ended with a delicious cookie called “Modern Molasses Cookies” submitted by Alyssa D’Alconzo. Since we have opened, we have been placing these yummy cookies on a silver tray on each bed during turn-down service. They are wonderful and everyone really enjoys the added “midnight snack”.

Modern Molasses Cookies the Official Cookie of Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast birthplace of James Madison in King George Virginia at Port Conway

Alyssa and Michelle – November 2013

This weekend we were excited to host Alyssa and her family for a couple days at the plantation! How wonderful to finally meet someone that we have been chatting with on our blog for so long. Alyssa isn’t the first from the blog to come by, but it was extra special to have her here to sample our “Modern Molasses Cookies”.

I think we passed the test!

But we would like to share the recipe with all those who are new or those who would like to know how to make them. Here at the plantation, I did make a copy of changes to the recipe. I don’t serve them with chocolate because there are those who may be allergic. I also make a batch and freeze the raw dough balls. Then in the afternoon, I pull out what I need and cook them so they are fresh and warm when our guests return from dinner. By freezing them, it helps give them a puffy center too. (A trick I learned from Mrs. Field’s cookies)

You can check out Alyssa’s blog and read about her adventures visiting us at

http://suitcasesandsweets.com

So make a warm batch and enjoy!

Modern Molasses Cookies – Alyssa D’Alconzo

Ingredients (4 dozen cookies)

2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
sugar
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil or shortening

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine first 5 ingredients; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together shortening and dark brown sugar. Beat in egg, molasses, and vanilla. Mix well.

Fold in dry ingredients and stir by hand.
Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
Shape teaspoonful of dough into balls; roll in sugar.
Place balls onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Bake 8-10 minutes until set. Cool for one minute on cookie sheet and remove to wire rack to cool completely.
In a small bowl, break up chocolate into small pieces, add coconut oil or shortening, and microwave on medium heat until melted.

Using a fork, drizzle chocolate over cookies.

Allow chocolate to set and store in an airtight container.

Meeting

Aug. 21st 2012

I know I said we will fill you in on the weekend at the plantation and Fredericksburg, but we got a surprise on Monday in the way of a very important meeting on Wednesday. We have been working on preparing for this meeting so we have not had time to post and answer comments. So tonight, we are going to be finishing up our prep work and getting to bed early because we need to travel to Richmond for this meeting.

Hopefully tomorrow we will have time to get the post up so you can see how much fun we had this weekend and I will answer your comments then too!

In the meantime, I thought I would share my “finds” from this weekend. We made a trip back to one of my favorite antique barn in King George, “McGinnis Antique Barn”.

Until tomorrow… enjoy and keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for us.

Thank you all for your support! Don’t forget to get you tickets before 11:59pm Friday, August 24th! The big drawing is Saturday, August 25th!

Posted by Michelle Darnell | in Year of the Virginia Historic Homes | 26 Comments »

Childhood Homes

Jun. 22nd 2012

Ferry Farm – Childhood Home of George Washington

Yesterday had to be one of the most exciting days I have spent in my research of Belle Grove Plantation. I had been invited to a picnic by the King George Historic Society earlier in the month. Being that it is about 2.5 hours from our current home, I decided to take a half day and do some running around in the county while I was there.

Recently I had come across another blog on WordPress by an anthropology student doing her field study at Ferry Farm. Ferry Farm is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia and was the childhood home of George Washington. Recently they had uncovered the foundation of the house on the property and had been doing archaeological digs there. In her blog, Ashley talks about the artifacts she has found during her digs. This caught my interest in many ways.

Ashley – Ferry Farm

First they are digging on a property that is very close to our plantation, just about 20 minutes away. And it was a childhood home of one of the founding fathers. With all the artifacts I have been finding on our plantation, I decided to email her and see if she could help me identify some of the artifacts and also give me some suggestion on what we could do to preserve the artifacts we may discover as we are doing the landscaping. One thing Ashley told me was that it was hard to identify artifacts by pictures on an email. So I decided to make use of my extra time and head there to see if they could help me.

Ferry Farm

When I arrived, the first thing I saw was the students working on their dig site. My heart just leaped. I packed up my bag and headed into the Visitors Center to pay for my admission. The gentleman pointed out the self guided walking tour and things I might want to check out. So I headed out the door and straight across the field to the dig site.

Ferry Farms

When I walked up, one of the students greeted me and I asked for Ashley. She came over and thanked me warmly for coming. Then she and two other students showed me their finds for the day. One of these finds was a small piece of a wig curler. (You must read about these curlers on her blog!) But I got to hold it and she showed me the small lettering on the end, just like it had shown on her blog. Holding it was a thrill! I then showed them some of my finds from Belle Grove along with some of the pictures I had brought with me. There I was unloading my little zip lock bags of “artifacts” beside the dig site of the home of our first president, in 101 degree sunshine.

Ferry Farm

Jason and Mara – Ferry Farm

Jason, a Lab Assistant to the supervisor suggested that since I had a lot of glass and dishware, I might want to come to the lab and meet one of the resident archaeologists who would be better at identifying these pieces. Jason introduced me to Mara, an expert on glass and dishware. She was excited to see what I had. The first thing I showed her was our pictures and explained what we were doing with this historic property. Then I pulled out the artifacts and the fun began! She went through piece by piece and told me what it was and about what time period it comes from. It was almost like looking at lottery tickets to see if I had a winner! Below are some of the ones that turned out to be great finds and one that was quite a surprise. If you want to see all of them, we are going to start adding our finds to our Facebook page. Please check them out there.

Artifact from Belle Grove – Printed Pearlware – 1807 to 1830

Artifact from Belle Grove – Ceramic Sewage Pipe – late 1800s to early 1900s

Artifact from Belle Grove – Large Piece – Green Shell Pearlward – 1807 to 1835
Small Piece – Hard Paste Porcelain Saucer – Guilded over Glaze Painted – 1800 – 1835

One of the things we talked about was how I wanted to make sure we preserved items as we did the landscaping. She also suggested that I contact a college or university to see if we might be able to put together a field study for students through the college to uncover more of our history. I had mentioned that I wanted to contact James Madison University due to the fact that he was born on the property to see if they might want to do some exploring. I know right now they are working on the project at Montpelier. She gave me a name of someone she knew in the archaeology department that might be able to help us in the future. It won’t happen this year, but soon! One thing I had a little laugh about was watching Jason with our nails. As soon as I pulled the zip lock bag out, he picked it up and started separating them. Then he left and returned with small bags to place them in for me. Then as we pulled out the glass pieces, he would take them to another room and return with them. I wasn’t sure what he was doing until Mara told me that he was checking them for light refraction to help determine their dates and kinds. He was just about as excited as I was I think.

Ferry Farm

Once we were done, Mara took me downstairs through the inside part of their lab and I got to see some of the projects they were working on. How exciting to see objects that they had recovered and were painstakingly putting back together. One of the objects she picked up and showed me. She placed it in my hand and then told me that it was owned by Mary Ball Washington, George Washington’s mother! I was overwhelmed! To think I was standing there holding something that Mary Washington touched, or that George Washington could have held! As we walked out, Mara made a point to let me know that they would be happy to help us at any time and that I was welcomed to bring anything I find there for them to help me identify them. I really appreciated the time she and Jason had given me to identify the artifacts I had. I was most thankful for Ashley’s blog. If it hadn’t been for her writing about her experiences, I would have never found them! Thank you Ashley!

(Visit Ashley’s Blog and see what she is up to!  diganthro.wordpress.com)

(Visit Ferry Farm’s web site! www.kenmore.org)

Ferry Farm Garden

After I finished at Ferry Farm, I headed back toward King George. I had about one hour till the picnic and headed over to one of my favorite antique stores, McGinnis Barn on King Highway. I had been there two weeks earlier and had found some plates I wanted, but didn’t have the cash on me to purchase them. So Mr. McGinnis had put them aside for me until I could return. I had called him the night before, knowing I would be in the area and asked if I could stop by since he is only open Saturday and Sunday. When I arrived I paid for my plates and found a silver tea pot. When I asked how much, as he always does, he gave me a deal I couldn’t say no to. I went back to the car and to my luck I had just enough cash left to get it. I wasn’t sure before if I wanted to have silver tea pots as well as porcelain pots, but this one was so pretty and has some of the same decorations around the top as some of the cups I have. So home it came with the plates.

With just half an hour left, I made a quick stop at Belle Grove before heading over to the picnic. The picnic was being held at another historic plantation called Cleydael plantation in King George. This plantation has just recently been purchased and is under restoration by the new owners. This plantation is historically important as it was the plantation that John Wilkes Booth and David Harold had stopped at on their way through King George.

Cleydael – Back of House

This plantation was the summer home of Dr. Richard Stuart. Dr. Stuart was good friends with the Lee Family and had even sheltered Robert E. Lee’s daughters through most of the Civil War. When John Wilkes Booth arrived at the house and asked for assistance, Dr. Stuart refused to treat Booth, but offered both Booth and Harold a meal, which he served them on his back porch just like a common field hand. After they finished their meal, Dr. Stuart asked them to be on their way. From here, Booth and Harold made their way down to the ferry at Port Conway and on to Garrett’s Farm.

Cleydael – Front of House

The picnic was full of wonderful new faces for me to meet and some others that I have already met. The one thing I do have to say is that King George is very proud of its history, and rightfully so. This group continues to work to preserve that history and to bring it to the attention of others. Maybe soon we can have them at Belle Grove Plantation to help us celebrate the opening.

Cleydael – This is the back porch that John Wilkes Booth ate one of his last meals.

One last stop on the way out at Belle Grove Plantation. It was a wonder stop. It was just twilight and as I pulled into the long driveway heading to the house, I could see a deer in the field next to the house. I stopped just for a moment to look at her. She stood there and stared at me for a moment. I could see her white tail flicking back and forth. It was so peaceful. Then off she ran toward me and the driveway then across to the woods beside me. I continued up to the house and as I pulled in, two rabbits popped up and hurried away. Then I heard Dolley, our resident osprey. She was sitting up on the nest peering over at me and calling out “Who’s there?” I sat for a moment, not even getting out of the car, but listening through my open window. I listen to the quiet sounds of Belle Grove Plantation and wondered how it might have sounded during the time James Madison or George Washington could have been here. I wondered what “treasures” are we yet to find and what new and exciting people will come and add to the history of this grand plantation. A chill came over me as smiled and knew that the best is yet to come.

Posted by Michelle Darnell | in Year of the Virginia Historic Homes | 55 Comments »

We are almost there!

Jun. 6th 2012

Progress is happening!

First an update on our progress. Tomorrow we are meeting with an attorney to review some things for our LLC, which we have now! (Yay!) But we also are expecting a draft of the contract! (It’s about time!) If everything looks good and we don’t have to make any changes, we could be on our way by the first of next week! And we could be revealing the plantation this weekend! (fingers crossed)

I don’t know about you, but I am dying to tell! 

NEW Item for the Menu!

Tonight I made a Sweet Crepe with a sweet cream cheese filling with slices of bananas and topped with blueberry compote. I also added some fresh blueberries on top of the compote to give you that snap of the fresh berries with the smooth compote. No leftovers in our house!

Sweet Crepe with Bananas and Blueberries

NEW Antique Finds!

Sunday I had to go back to an antique mall in Virginia Beach to pick up a creamer that I missed with the tea set I purchased a few weeks ago. I ended up coming home with five new plates for the afternoon tea parties! We are making progress in finding the china that we need!

Posted by Michelle Darnell | in Year of the Virginia Historic Homes | 79 Comments »