Mountain View Farm
Also known as: Mountain View Farm at Rebec Vineyards
Why it's listed
Mountain View Farm, near Clifford in Amherst County, Virginia, is a farmstead of seven historic buildings centered on a timber-frame I-house with a rear ell. Colonel Hugh Rose built the house in the late 1700s. In 1831 William F. Spencer moved it from Spencer's Mountain to its present location to be closer to a new stagecoach road linking Philadelphia and the Carolinas. Dr. Paul Carrington Cabell, a physician from the prominent Cabell family, acquired the property in the 1830s, renamed it Mountain View, and added the supporting buildings. These include a one-room doctor's office, a well house, a smokehouse, a log ice house and carriage house, and two chicken coops. Later owners included the philanthropist Samuel Miller, who planned to grow medicinal horehound there. The farm is valued for its architecture and for the remarkable survival of its largely unaltered outbuildings, especially the rare doctor's office.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the farm is one of a handful of surviving antebellum farmsteads in Amherst County, with a largely unaltered set of outbuildings including a rare surviving 19th-century doctor's office. It is also tied to the Cabell family, prominent in Piedmont political and medical life, and to Dr. Paul Carrington Cabell, who built the outbuildings.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 96001453, listed September 3, 1997. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of Co. Rt. 3 and US 29, Clifford |
|---|---|
| County | Amherst County |
| Listed | September 3, 1997 |
| Reference number | 96001453 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1831-1859 |
| Architect / builder | Colonel Hugh Rose (mansion); Paul Carrington Cabell (cottage) |
| Architectural style | Colonial/Georgian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Outbuildings are described as in good condition and largely unaltered; the property is still used as a single dwelling with secondary structures. |
| Acreage | 65.3 |
| Coordinates | 37.64294, -78.98593 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 96001453.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14712924
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.