{"nrhp_refnum":"69000229","name":"Staunton Hill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW of jct. of Rtes. 619 and 693","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brookneal","county":"Charlotte County","state":"VA","lat":36.99297647100008,"lon":-78.85242816099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-10-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Staunton Hill is a Gothic Revival house of brick covered in pink stucco, set in grounds overlooking the Staunton River near Brookneal in Charlotte County, Virginia. It was designed in 1848 by John E. Johnson for Charles Bruce.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it among the finest and best preserved Gothic Revival houses in America and an excellent example of a style that is exceedingly rare in Virginia. It was built to the highest standards, using imported materials and trained workmen brought from Philadelphia, for a son of the wealthy merchant James Bruce.","narrative":"Staunton Hill is a Gothic Revival country house overlooking the Staunton River near Brookneal, Charlotte County, Virginia. John E. Johnson designed it in 1848 for Charles Bruce, a son of the wealthy Virginia merchant James Bruce. The brick walls are covered in pink stucco, and a three-story central pavilion with octagonal crenellated corner towers rises above a two-story facade. A one-story Tudor-style gray marble veranda fronts the house, and the roofline carries a crenellated parapet and clustered octagonal chimney pots. Inside, an octagonal vaulted entrance hall leads to a divided staircase, and most principal rooms keep their Gothic Revival cornices, woodwork, mantels and gilt pier mirrors. The remote site made construction difficult. Skilled workmen came from Philadelphia, materials arrived by water, the veranda marble was imported from Italy and the mirrors were ordered from Venice. The nomination ranks the house among the finest and best preserved Gothic Revival buildings in America and notes that the style is very rare in Virginia.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1848)","architect_builder":"John E. Johnson (designer)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, well preserved and excellently maintained; occupied as a private residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.806059-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/6800/41680067/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/69000229.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000229/07411a3202-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000229/07411a3202-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Staunton_Hill_ca_1910.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Staunton_Hill_ca_1910.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680067","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staunton_Hill_(Brookneal,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713256"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/charlotte-county/staunton-hill-69000229/"}