Belmont Manor House, formally known as Belmont Plantation, is a two-story, five-part Federal mansion in Loudoun County, Virginia, built between the years of 1799–1802 by Ludwell Lee (1760–1836), son of Richard Henry Lee. The land surrounding the mansion, the Belmont property, was handed down to his first wife (also his first cousin), Flora Lee, from their grandfather, Thomas Lee. Located in the Belmont census-designated place, the Belmont Manor House and property have been owned since 1995 by Toll Brothers, Inc. It uses the Manor House as the clubhouse in a gated golf community. The property and house are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. History The plantation has been visited by many notable figures in history including President James Madison in 1812. The President was said to use the plantation as a safe haven throughout the War of 1812 after the British attacked Washington, D.C. Another figure who visited the plantation was General and diplomat La Fayette, who came to the Manor home to visit Ludwell Lee in 1825. The Manor home is located at the highest point in eastern Loudoun County, with views of the surrounding hills and mountain ranges of the approaches to the nearby town of Leesburg, Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1836, Margaret Mercer purchased the Belmont home from Lee's heirs; she intended to adapt it as a women's Christian school. After her death, the estate was sold to a prominent Alexandria, Virginia slave trader George Kephart, whose daughter also operated a school (though soon moved to a different location and which closed after Virginia adopted free public education in its post-Civil War constitution. In 1887, the home was bought by Frederick Staunton, who sold it in 1907 to John Scott Ferguson, a Pittsburgh attorney and cousin of Evelyn Nesbit Thaw. In 1915, Ferguson sold it to the McLean family. The McLean family is notable as the owners of the Hope Diamond. In 1915, Edward B. McLean, son of the publisher of The Washington Post acquired the property and built a horse stable and training track for Thoroughbreds. McLean dispersed his bloodstock in June 1931 and in December the estate was sold to Patrick J. Hurley and his wife. Hurley is notable as the Secretary of War under President Herbert Hoover. In 1963, the IBM Corporation bought the property and adapted it as their management retreat center. By the 1980s, the house