History of Belle Hampton Farm

Belle Hampton is a historic farm located in Dublin, VA. The farm was originally part of a 4000 acre land grant given to Joseph Howe by the king of England in 1767 (Key, L., 2009). It has since been passed down several generations and transferred to its current owner, Tom Hoge. One of the original structures was built in 1826 by Governor James Hoge Tyler, who served the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1898-1902 (Virginia Tech, 2017). Tyler served in the Confederate army in the Civil War, afterwards returning to his family’s farm and renaming it Belle Hampton (Virginia Tech, 2017). In addition to creating a successful cattle farming operation, Tyler also established a private coal mining operation (DHR, 2018). Tyler served on the board of visitors and as rector for Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College from 1887-1890 and 1887-1889, respectively (Virginia Tech, 2017). The 280 acre property now operates as a cattle farm and outreach for Virginia Tech research projects.