Plantation Slavery

In the Shenandoah Valley, small family farms were the norm, but plantations also existed, including Belle Grove. Major Isaac Hite, Jr. and his family recorded 276 enslaved people they owned between 1783 and 1851. Some raised wheat, corn, flax, and other grains or tended livestock, while others worked in Hite's blacksmith shop, saw mill, grist mill, and distillery. Enslaved workers were involved in every household task and income-producing venture, and their labor was critical to the plantation's success. Isaac Hite kept detailed records of enslaved workers with annotations such as "runaway," "sold," "given to…," and "died."

Virginia · United States