Visitors looking for Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park will find new navigational signs to enhance their visit. Thirteen new signs were recently installed at the park along Route 11 and Interstate 81. Signs at the Middletown and Strasburg exits of I-81 will bring new awareness about this previously hidden national park unit to interstate drivers.
New interstate signs for both the northbound and southbound exits of exit 298 and 302 are combined with off ramp navigational signs, and visitor facility locational signs along Route 11. While an assortment of signs have been used in the past to highlight Belle Grove plantation or the Cedar Creek battlefield, these new signs are the first navigational aids to be installed since the creation of the National Historical Park in 2002. The new signage includes the national park service arrowhead and is the first phase in creating a unified look for the park.
“Visitors looking for our park will now find it easier to navigate in the area with clear and recognizable signs,” noted Site Manager, Amy Bracewell. “We also expect increased visitation by drivers along I-81 who did not know we were here until they saw the signs. This park offers a unique glimpse into the rich history of the Shenandoah Valley and our new signs will help us share this history with more travelers.”
In addition to directing visitors to the park, new park signs also highlight some of the facilities and information centers operated by park partners. New blue signs direct travelers to the Strasburg Tourist Information Center at the Hupp’s Hill Civil War Park Museum. Signs along Route 11 in the park also direct visitors to explore the Belle Grove Plantation and the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation headquarters office. Visitors who are drawn in by the new signs will find a variety of things to do at the park including house tours, ranger programs, educational exhibits, and junior ranger activities. Travelers are encouraged to stop first at the national park service Visitor Contact Station in Middletown (7712 Main Street) for information and an orientation to the park.
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About Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park: Cedar Creek and Belle Grove commemorates a nationally significant Civil War landscape and antebellum plantation by sharing the story of Shenandoah Valley history from early settlement through the Civil War and beyond. The park is embedded within the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, a National Heritage Area.
Created on December 19, 2002, the park encompasses approximately 3,700 acres across three counties and includes the key partner sites of Belle Grove Plantation (owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and managed by Belle Grove, Inc.), Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation lands and Headquarters, Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation lands, and a developing Shenandoah County Park. The partner sites continue to be owned and operated independently.
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