excerpts from nomination submitted to NPS

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 Jim 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 price increased from 2,000 pounds in 1790 to 5,000 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 constructed between 1790 and 1796.
For many years it was thought that Belle Grove was built for Francis Conway, II, who is known to have owned and lived at Belle grove in the mid-eighteenth century. Indeed, the present Belle Grove house has been claimned as the birth place of the fourth president, James Madison, whose mother, Eleanor Rose conwey (Madison) was a sister of Francis Conway II. Mrs. Madison is known to have been visiting her mother ,at Belle Grove in 1751 on the day Madison was born.

For more info, see Final Nomination submitted to National Park Service

excerpts from nominatin submitted to National Park Service:
Link to full nomination sumbitted to NPS
The Ralph Bunche High School is located at 10139 James Madison Parkway (Route 301) in Edgehill, King George County, Virginia. The one-story brick building, constructed in 1949 as a high school for the African-American students in King George County, replaced the King George Training School for Negro students which was built in 1916 and demolished circa 1970; traces of the Training School remain in place. The new school was designed by architect Samuel N. Mayo and the construction was completed by Howard-Mitchell Construction Company, both of Richmond.1 The brick school building rests on a poured concrete slab sloping down from the entrance on James Madison Parkway towards the back of the lot. There is a raised boiler room below the rear portion of the school. The building is vernacular with International Style influences. The layout is an L-shaped plan with the two-story auditorium-gymnasium running parallel to the road and classrooms placed on both sides of the main hallway running perpendicular to the road. The exterior retains most of its original materials. A majority of the interior is covered in modern wood paneling, dropped ceiling tiles, and industrial carpet; many original materials remain underneath. There is a 1957 addition on the back of the school. In 1960, a separate industrial arts shop building was constructed to the south of the school. The Ralph Bunche High School closed in 1968 but has been used since for city and county administrative offices and storage.

The Friends of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT) is an organization of trail supporters who want to see the DRHT protected for future generations. This volunteer group of citizens is working toward the completion of the proposed DRHT rail trail, first as a private-use (permit required) trail pending King George Board of Supervisor support for the project, and then as a public-access rail trail. They are active in planning, design, construction and maintenance of the rail trail, membership and fundraising activities and in publicly promoting and supporting the rail trail.

Their intention is to provide the residents of King George county and surrounding communities with a handicapped-accessible recreational trail for non-motorized activities such as cycling, hiking, running, skiing and horse-back riding, while at the same time promoting and preserving the natural and historic aspects of the rail trail. The rail trail will also serve to connect neighborhoods and provide an alternative to using roadways.

You can support the The Friends of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT) by visiting their web site and makine a donation or offering your support. See Friends of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail website

King George County has established the "KGALERT" system to immediately contact you via email or cell phone in the event of a major crisis or emergency. The KGALERT system is designed to deliver important emergency alerts, notifications and updates to you on all your devices and e-mail accounts:
When an incident or emergency occurs, authorized King George Emergency Management personnel will rapidly notify registered users using the KGALERT system. Registration is free of charge. Visit King George County KGALERT page for more information and to register.

We have launched our King George FAQ - a feature designed to enable users to ask and answer questions, to share their knowledge of King George County, Virginia, and to create a knowledge base of frequently asked questions about King George County, Virginia. Visitors and residents are welcome and encouraged to submit questions. If you know the answer to a posted questions, please feel free to share your knowledge and submit an answer. If you believe a posted answer is wrong, or could be improved, please post a comment.
The King George FAQ feature may be accessed from the user menu in the left column of each page.