Belle Isle State Park

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Belle Isle State Park, Virginia, USA
1930s photo of Belle Isle mansion by Thomas T. Waterman of Historic American Buildings Survey
Area	733 acres (2.97 km²)
Governing body	Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

Belle Isle State Park is located in Lancaster County, Virginia on the Rappahannock River. It sits in Lancaster County between Deep Creek and Morattico Creek and is currently under public ownership. The park has an area of 733 acres (2.97 km²) and has facilities for fishing, boating and picnics. While it is not an island, the park is surrounded by Tidewater coastal marshes. Wildlife observed includes blue herons, osprey, hawks, bald eagles, white-tailed deer and various reptiles and amphibians. It is near the unincorporated towns of Litwalton, Morattico and Somers.

The park and mansion were operated in the 19th century as a plantation. The property was acquired in 1692 by John Bertrand. Belle Isle mansion was built around 1760 by Raleigh Downman and restored in the 1940s. The architect for the restoration was Thomas Tileston Waterman, the first director of the Historic American Buildings Survey [1]. Some of the interior rooms and paneling can be seen today at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware[2]. The house, which is surrounded by the park but still privately owned, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Bel Air, a colonial reproduction house on the grounds designed by Waterman, can be rented for overnight stays. In addition, there is a cottage that can also be rented.

[edit] External links

• General Park Information
• More Park Info
• Bio of Thomas Waterman
• Winterthur iPod tour with Leigh and Leslie Keno
• Historic American Buildings Survey Info
• History of house and removal of paneling to Winterthur

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