{"nrhp_refnum":"79003042","name":"Elk Hill","other_names":["Harrison's Elk Hill"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W of Goochland off VA 6","address_restricted":false,"city":"Goochland","county":"Goochland County","state":"VA","lat":37.71628809900005,"lon":-78.08539504753139,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-02-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Elk Hill is a Greek Revival brick residence overlooking the James River near Goochland, Goochland County, Virginia. Randolph Harrison, Jr. built it in 1835, with a rear ell added in 1839.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Elk Hill as a distinguished example of Greek Revival architecture in a dramatic riverside setting. Its design draws on Richmond townhouse precedents, including a rear porch and a hall divided into three passages. The interior woodwork, marble mantel and plaster ornament are described as characteristic of the capital's most stylish houses. The land also once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, though a reviewer did not treat that as adding to its significance.","narrative":"Elk Hill is a Greek Revival house set on a hill above the James River in rural Goochland County. Randolph Harrison, Jr. built the scored stucco-covered brick dwelling in 1835 as a two-and-one-half-story, central-hall house, and added a two-story rear ell in 1839. A one-story Tuscan portico marks the east front, and a large wooden porch shelters the rear. Inside, the hall is divided into three sections, with a Doric entry screen, an open-well stair and a carved marble mantel in the western parlor. Though built in the countryside, its design follows Richmond townhouse precedent, and the complex hall resembles that of the Governor's Mansion in Richmond. The land was once owned by Thomas Jefferson, who assembled the tract in the 1780s and sold it in 1799. The brick servants' quarters, tack house and springhouse survive. Today the house serves as the administrative headquarters of a boys' reformatory farm, and its original plan has been retained. The nominated area covers 35 acres.","period_of_significance":"1839-40","architect_builder":"Randolph Harrison, Jr. (builder/owner)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as administrative headquarters of Elk Hill Farm, a reformatory for boys; the second floor is the director's residence and the school continues to farm the property. Condition listed as good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.953713-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/6809/41680967/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/79003042.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003042/6b1d3e0b4b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003042/6b1d3e0b4b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jjmusgrove","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elk_Hill.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jjmusgrove</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:Elk_Hill.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680967","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_Hill_(Goochland,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712280"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/goochland-county/elk-hill-79003042/"}