Belle Grove Celebrates 50th Anniversary as a Museum
August 13, 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of Belle Grove Plantation operating as a historic house museum. The property was bequest by Francis Welles Hunnewell of Wellesley, Massachusetts to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to become a museum. Mr. Hunnewell had been a frequent guest when Belle Grove was operated as an inn by J. Herbert Brumback in the 1920s and he purchased the property from the Brumback family in 1929 and began restoring it. The formal dedication of Belle Grove as a museum was on August 13, 1967. On August 13, 2017, the Belle Grove community celebrated the 50th anniversary with free admission, birthday cake, ice cream, and behind-the-scenes tours. More than 400 visitors attended on a lovely summer afternoon including members of the Hite family and well as new and old friends.
U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Comstock presented a resolution on the floor of the House in honor of Belle Grove’s 50th Anniversary. It is on display in the visitor services area on the lower level of the Manor House.