Tour to explore homes on one of seven hills

From staff reports
Published: September 25, 2008

This year, the Lynchburg Historical Foundation’s Annual Home Tour takes in Daniel’s Hill, the vantage point from which some of those who helped fashion the city could look out on what they had wrought.

The tour, set for 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 28, will give visitors entrée to seven homes and buildings on one of the city’s original seven hills. The annual Patrons’ Party will follow from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Carriage House Inn Bed and Breakfast.

The neighborhood grew up around Point of Honor, Dr. George Cabell’s Federal mansion, after its construction in the early 1800s. Now an historic district, Daniel’s Hill is rich in architectural styles from the early 19th to the early 20th centuries, with mansions lining the street named in Cabell’s honor.

The neighborhood also includes the homes of workers employed in the factories along the James River, as well as some buildings that housed industry of its own.

With the exception of Rivermont House, now under renovation, all of the houses and buildings will be open for the first time.

The houses and buildings on this year’s tour:

—Rivermont House, (circa 1852), 205 F. St., owner Rivermont House Inc. The Greek Revival home of Judge William Daniel Jr., and his second wife, Elizabeth Cabell, was later owned by Edward S. Hutter, founder of the development company that created the Rivermont neighborhood.

—Adams House, (circa 1875), 210 Cabell St., owner Jim Scow. The seemingly Italianate villa, designed by Robert C. Burkholder for William Duval Adams, shows a combination of styles. 

—Christ Episcopal Chapel, (circa 1870), 215 Cabell St., owner Filiaggi Restoration LLC. Built in simple Gothic style, it was one of four satellite chapels that served Grace Memorial Episcopal Church, then located on Grace Street.

—The Dawson House, (circa 1873), 301 Cabell St., owners Troy Deacon and Ted Delaney. The frame house built by Renny and Mary Dawson was one of the first houses constructed during the building boom on Daniel’s Hill following its annexation by the city in 1870.

—Horner House, (circa 1848), 315 Cabell St., owner Bill Holt. The Greek Revival home of merchant James E. Horner and his wife, Anne Eliza.

—Lynchburg row houses, 615 and 621 Cabell St. 615 Cabell owner, Lewis Wilson; 621 Cabell owner, Greer Gould. The mainly Queen Anne style row houses, among the city’s first, date to 1899 when McKinley was president, Duke Ellington had just been born and the automobile industry was a fledging industry.

The Patrons’ Party setting is at the Carriage House Inn B&B, 404 Cabell St., which was actually the 1878 Italianate mansion designed by Burkholder for Richard Thomas Watts.

Point of Honor will open on tour day, as well.