Gospel Hill Historic District

Gospel Hill is a hilly, tree-shaded residential neighborhood of about 68 acres just east-northeast of downtown Staunton. Its roughly 200 recorded structures range from modest cottages to mansions of fifteen or twenty rooms, and nearly all date from 1840 to 1930. Development accelerated after Beverley Street was extended in 1839 to reach the newly established school for the deaf and blind. Greek Revival brick houses of the 1840s were followed by homes in nearly every Victorian style, along with Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Bungalow designs. Limestone retaining walls and iron fences are common features. The oldest building is thought to be Kalorama, associated with the family of Sir William Beverley. Seven properties are individually listed, among them the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace. The district was recognized for its architectural variety, its strong integrity, and its record of Staunton's growth into a mercantile center of Western Virginia. Only nine buildings are considered non-contributing.