{"nrhp_refnum":"92001579","name":"Miller, Samuel, House","other_names":["VDHR File No. 118-223"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1433 Nelson Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lynchburg (Independent City)","county":"Lynchburg","state":"VA","lat":37.365973729000075,"lon":-79.21292736599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Economics","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story frame house at 1433 Nelson Drive in Lynchburg, Virginia, built between about 1826 and 1829 for Samuel Miller, with a surviving early cottage and three later outbuildings on nearly four acres.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Samuel Miller (1792-1869), who rose from poverty to become one of the wealthiest men in the antebellum South through tobacco trading and investments. His will left most of his fortune to found orphanages and schools in Virginia. The property was also the scene of a cavalry skirmish and Union looting during the June 1864 siege of Lynchburg.","narrative":"This large, plain frame house on the outskirts of Lynchburg was built between about 1826 and 1829 for Samuel Miller, who retired there in poor health and lived until his death in 1869. The T-shaped house has clapboard siding, three brick chimneys and a fieldstone foundation. It sits on nearly four acres with views toward the Blue Ridge. A small cottage, possibly older than the house and likely home to Miller's overseer, survives as a contributing building. Renovations in 1938 and the 1950s added bathrooms, a new porch front, a sun room and a fallout shelter, yet most original fabric remains. Miller rose from poverty to become a tobacco merchant and investor in railroad stocks, bonds and farmland, ranking among the South's wealthiest men before the Civil War. His will directed the bulk of his estate to orphanages and schools. In June 1864 Union troops skirmished on the farm and ransacked the house, though he protected his key financial papers.","period_of_significance":"c. 1826-1869","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"Still used as a single dwelling; the cottage is rented. The main house was renovated in 1938 and altered in the 1950s, and is estimated to be about 90% intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.653479-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/9/6818/41681809/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/92001579.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001579/e11b7617f0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001579/e11b7617f0-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samuel_Miller_House_Lynchburg_Nov_08.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samuel_Miller_House_Lynchburg_Nov_08.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681809","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Miller_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7412192"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/lynchburg/miller-samuel-house-92001579/"}