| Belvedere | |
| Coordinates: | 39.2847°N -77.8453°W |
| Built: | 1807 |
| Architecture: | Federal |
| Added: | January 12, 1984 |
| Refnum: | 84003588 |
Belvedere, also known as Belvidere, was built near Charles Town, West Virginia by Magnus Tate II in 1807. The Federal style mansion is situated at the end of a tree-lined driveway and commands a sweeping view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The house grew from the original "kitchen house" section to a formal three-bay brick main house built in 1824 by Magnus's son WIlliam, which were separate until they were connected in 1939.[1]
The site was inhabited by the Tate family from the 1760s. Magnus Tate II (1732-1808) was a founder of Charles Town. His four sons were all born at Belvedere. Magnus Tate III (1767-1823) served in the Virginia Assembly before serving from 1815 to 1817 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Belvedere passed to William Tate (1776-1818), and then to his son, George Tate II. The house passed out of the Tate family in 1882.[1]
The two-story brick house is one room deep with a center hall the depth of the house. A three-part central window on the second floor complements the sidelights and transom at the front door below. A small entrance porch with paired columns is original to the house.[2] The end of the older section flanking the 1824 house features a rosette window at attic level and a side door with a transom and sidelights, both in the gable elevation.[1]