{"nrhp_refnum":"00000485","name":"Bonham, H.L., House","other_names":["189-0003"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"408 White Top Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chilhowie","county":"Smyth County","state":"VA","lat":36.795426278000036,"lon":-81.68143950399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-05-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Colonial Revival house completed in 1911 at 408 White Top Road in Chilhowie, Smyth County, Virginia, with a carriage house, acetylene building, chicken coop and three relocated frame cottages. It was designed by architect C.B. Kearfoot, Jr.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Hezekiah Love Bonham, a regional farmer and businessman who pioneered scientific orchard management, cold storage for apples and large-scale pasture fertilization in southwest Virginia. It is also a well-preserved early work of architect C.B. Kearfoot, Jr., with an intact tiger oak interior.","narrative":"Built in 1911 on the northwest edge of Chilhowie, this two-story brick house was designed in the Colonial Revival style by Bristol-based architect C.B. Kearfoot, Jr., one of his earliest commissions. It has a hipped roof, a wraparound porch with a rounded central portico, and a central-passage plan with tiger oak woodwork and ornate mantels. Original outbuildings include a brick carriage house, a brick acetylene building that lit the house before electricity, and a frame chicken coop. Three frame cottages from about 1910 were moved behind the house in the 1960s during construction of Interstate 81, which also compromised the setting. The house was the home of Hezekiah Love Bonham, who moved from lumber into apples. He applied scientific fertilizing and orchard methods, built the only apple cold storage facility of its kind in southwest Virginia, and demonstrated pasture fertilization for cattle. He also served in the General Assembly and supported schools and hospitals. The property was listed for his association and for its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1911-1934","architect_builder":"Kearfoot, Jr., C.B.","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals (Colonial-Revival)","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"The main house and original outbuildings retain their original materials and craftsmanship. Interstate 81 and a nearby Virginia Department of Transportation shop have compromised the setting, and the property no longer retains its agricultural acreage. The listed property includes cottages with a current tenant-house use and a specialty store use is listed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:01.067755-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/50/6836/41683650/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/00000485.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000485/5a2f12df3a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000485/5a2f12df3a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:H._L._BONHAM_HOUSE,_CHILHOWIE,_SMYTH_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:H._L._BONHAM_HOUSE,_CHILHOWIE,_SMYTH_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683650","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.L._Bonham_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15222428"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/smyth-county/bonham-h-l-house-00000485/"}