Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/04/1996
NRHP Listing Date 12/21/1997
NRHP Reference Number 97000148
This site includes the remains of a simple house built between 1870 and 1877 for Aaron Hilton (1832-1916), a respected former slave of the Lewis-Douthat and Selden families. An anonymous writer in 1915 described Hilton as “one of the landmarks of Charles City County,” saying that he was an authority on the care of sheep and that neighboring farmers relied on him for advice on all occasions. In 1877 Hilton was able to realize a primary ambition of freedmen by purchasing a five-acre parcel, the tract where he had built his house. Because written records of freedmen’s domestic lifestyles are uncommon, the archaeological remains of Hilton’s house, accompanied by unusually substantive documentation, give the site particular significance for providing information on a neglected facet of Virginia social history. Tests by Virginia Department of Historic Resources archaeologists in 1993 confirmed the site’s location.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: October 18, 2018
