{"nrhp_refnum":"72001379","name":"Castle Hill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NE of Cismont near jct. of VA 231 and 640","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cismont","county":"Albemarle County","state":"VA","lat":38.08951552350007,"lon":-78.30328134978029,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Military","Literature","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Philosophy","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Castle Hill is a plantation residence near Cismont in Albemarle County, Virginia, made up of two houses joined back to back: a 1764 story-and-a-half frame house built by Dr. Thomas Walker and a two-story brick house added around 1825 by William Cabell Rives.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Few Virginia plantations offer as many historical associations as Castle Hill. The double house, its boxwood-lined lawn and its set of eighteenth and early-nineteenth century outbuildings are architecturally notable. The property is also tied to Dr. Thomas Walker, Jack Jouett's 1781 warning ride, the diplomat and senator William Cabell Rives, and the authors Judith Page Walker Rives and Amelie Rives.","narrative":"Castle Hill, near Cismont in Albemarle County, is a plantation residence formed by two houses joined back to back by a connecting hall. The older part is a story-and-a-half frame house built in 1764 by Dr. Thomas Walker, a physician, surveyor and early explorer of the west. Its parlor paneling, with fluted Doric pilasters, is described as one of the handsomest of its type in Virginia. Around 1825 William Cabell Rives added a five-bay, two-story Flemish bond brick house with a Tuscan portico, one-story wings and an elliptical stair. The grounds include an hourglass-shaped lawn bordered by notable boxwood and a bowling green flanked by eighteenth and early-nineteenth century outbuildings. The property is linked to Jack Jouett's 1781 stop on his ride to warn Thomas Jefferson of Tarleton's approach, and to visitors including Washington, Madison and Jackson. Later it was home to the novelist Amelie Rives and her husband, Prince Pierre Troubetzkoy. It was restored after 1947.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Dr. Thomas Walker (frame section, 1764); William Cabell Rives (brick section, c. 1825)","architectural_style":"Colonial farm dwelling (frame section) and Piedmont plantation house with classical revival trim (brick section)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and unaltered on its original site; in use 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 02:51:56.740461-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/6793/41679331/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/72001379.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001379/03ef02f506-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001379/03ef02f506-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jjj1917","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castle_Hill_(1824_Rives_Addition).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jjj1917</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castle_Hill_(1824_Rives_Addition).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"92000054","name":"Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/southwest-mountains-rural-historic-district-92000054/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679331","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Hill_(Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712138"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/albemarle-county/castle-hill-72001379/"}