Belle Grove
- Address: US 301
Belle Grove stands as one of the major eighteenth century plantation houses of lower Rappahannock Valley. Its original owner and exact construction date have not been positively established, although it appears most likely that it was built after 1790 for John Hipkins, a merchant from the town of Port Royal, across the river. Hipkins purchased the 700 acre Belle Grove tract from Francis Conway III in 1790, and several years later he conveyed it with the existing house to his son-in-law, William Bernard. That the house was built in this period is supported by the fact that the property's fair market value price increased from 2000 pounds in 1790 to 5000 pounds in 1798. Since William Bernard took out a fire insurance policy on the present house with the Mutual Assurance Company in 1796, it seems evident that the house was erected between 1790 and 1796. - NRHP, 11 April 1973