{"nrhp_refnum":"73001996","name":"Elk Hill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW of Forest on VA 663","address_restricted":false,"city":"Forest","county":"Bedford (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.40706409800006,"lon":-79.34885769279762,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Elk Hill is a Federal-style plantation house with surviving outbuildings near Forest in Bedford County, Virginia, built about 1797 by Waddy Cobb and later enlarged and restored.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Elk Hill as a fine piedmont Federal plantation house, noted for its interior woodwork, the proportions of its original section, and unusual carved keystones. The main block retains a large amount of original fabric. It also forms part of the St. Stephen's Road community and is linked to St. Stephen's Church through its builder.","narrative":"Elk Hill is a plantation house near Forest in Bedford County, Virginia, built about 1797 by Waddy Cobb and named for Elk Creek, which crosses the property. The brick main block and north wing are laid in Flemish bond, with flat plastered arches over openings; the north wing has distinctive keystones carved with a stylized sunburst. Inside, the mantels, wainscoting and scrolled stair ends show careful woodwork. A south kitchen wing was added later by the Nelson family, and in 1928 the Hodges family had the house restored by architect Preston Craighill, who added porches, dormers and interior trim. Several outbuildings survive, including a brick office, a cook's house, a rebuilt kitchen, a lattice wellhouse and an icehouse. Elk Hill is considered a fine example of Federal architecture in the Virginia piedmont, and it belongs to the St. Stephen's Road community. Cobb was a brother of the first rector of St. Stephen's, and later the house was home to three generations of the Nelson family of physicians.","period_of_significance":"circa 1797, with later additions (18th century)","architect_builder":"Waddy Cobb (builder); Preston Craighill (architect of 1928 restoration)","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied private residence in good condition, altered; used also for agriculture. A kitchen rebuilt in 1940 serves as a guesthouse.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.959914-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/6797/41679738/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/73001996.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001996/22a6c5fd1e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001996/22a6c5fd1e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elk_Hill_main_house_in_sun.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elk_Hill_main_house_in_sun.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679738","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_Hill_(Forest,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712279"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/bedford/elk-hill-73001996/"}