House of history: Rivermont House topic of talk

Susan Pugh / Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 27, 2008

The history of Rivermont House is linked to the creation of a section of Lynchburg, one that got its name from the house.

During the past decade, those interested in saving the storied structure have raised the $350,000 needed to have its once-crumbling walls stabilized and its exterior renovated.

"The worst is over," said Heidi James, head of Rivermont House Inc., the nonprofit foundation created to save the house.

With the 4,520-square-foot house on F Street and its features - four chimneys, windows at least 12 feet high that fill rooms with light and pocket doors - protected, preservationists can determine an appropriate new use.

James will talk about Rivermont House at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, at the Jones Memorial Library. The event is part of the John D. Owen Jr. Lynchburg history lecture series.

Judge William Daniel Jr. built the Greek Revival house on land that was once part of the Point of Honor estate in 1852, the decade when the city was the second wealthiest in the country.

Daniel's wife, Elizabeth Cabell, is said to have given the house its name, a likely reference to its hilltop vantage overlooking the James River.

It was a later owner, Edward S. Hutter, who entwined the house with what became the Rivermont neighborhood.

A businessman and civil engineer, Hutter envisioned a neighborhood stretching west from the cliffs beside Blackwater Creek. It would be the city's largest real estate venture of the 1880s and 1890s, the era of the New South.

To make the area more accessible, he helped design a bridge from downtown over Blackwater Creek, which would lead onto an avenue that would run through the new neighborhood.

He gave the neighborhood, the bridge, the avenue and even the development company the name of his home: Rivermont.
After Hutter's death, the house changed hands 11 times. Over time, it deteriorated, its chimneys finally crashing into the
basement.

The Lynchburg Historical Foundation, where James was executive director, stepped in to save it from the wrecking ball. Rivermont House Inc. was created in 1997 to begin the process of reclaiming the house, with James focusing her efforts
solely on the project.

The original plan called for restoring and using the house as a Civil War house museum. The city has other house museums, though, as well as several major historical projects that draw and deserve public support, James said.

So one option would be to sell Rivermont House, with protective covenants, to a private party for use as a house museum. "It would really have to be the right person," she said.

Another option would be to use it as a restaurant and events space along the lines of the historic Michie Tavern on the road to Monticello, she said.

Rivermont House already had a debut of sorts last year when it was the setting for a dinner party for an historic event. The house was lighted with candles on a full-moon night, and "it seemed to have a magical quality about it," she said.

"The house has charisma."

Another idea would be to use it as a center for preservation efforts, with space for several organizations' archives and collections upstairs, and revolving exhibits downstairs, James said.

When it comes to Rivermont House's next use, "we're really just open," James said.

"We've taken it to the point where it's safe," she said, "We're just waiting for the right thing to come along."

If You're Going:

--WHAT: 'The Architecture and Families of Rivermont House: Lynchburg's Finest Greek Revival Mansion'
--WHEN: 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 5
--WHERE: Reading Room, Jones Memorial Library, 2311 Memorial Ave.
--TICKETS: Free
--INFO: Call the Jones Memorial Library at (434) 846-0501