Belmont Plantation (Albemarle County, Virginia)

38°1′19.5″N 78°22′40.03″W / 38.022083°N 78.3777861°W / 38.022083; -78.3777861

Belmont Plantation, also known as Belmont Estate and Belmont, is a locale in Albemarle County, Virginia,^[1] and the site of a 19th-century plantation. It was among the first patents in Albemarle County, patented in the 1730s. Matthew Graves sold a 2,500-acre-tract to John Harvie Sr., a friend of Peter Jefferson and a guardian of Thomas Jefferson. After his death in 1767, the property was inherited by his son John Harvie, Jr. Harvie lived at Belmont for several years, but after he was appointed the Registrar of Land Grants, he moved to Richmond, Virginia and John Rogers oversaw the plantation. Rogers was known for his progressive approaches to agriculture, including methods for improving the quality of the soil after years of tobacco crops.

In 1811, Dr. Charles Everett purchased 636 or 650 acres of the Belmont estate from John Rogers. This split the tract and Rogers' portion was named East Belmont. He owned slaves in the 1800s, whom he freed. In his will, he stipulated creation of a community for them in Pennsylvania, a free state. It was called Pandenarium. Everett died in 1848 and left Belmont to his nephew, Charles D. Everett. It remained within the Everett family until 1927, during which there were significant changes to the residence. After World War II, there was a major remodeling of the interior and exterior of the manor.

Belmont was used as a location in the filming of Giant (1956), starring Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor.