Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/19/1996
NRHP Listing Date 12/06/1996
NRHP Reference Number 96001446
As its name implies, this antebellum dwelling enjoys panoramic views of the York River. Built in the 1850s on or near an 18th-century site, the frame Riverview structure with its I-house plan and paired windows has architectural interest not because of its antiquity, but because of its comparatively late date. In its configuration, plan, and details, this James City County dwelling is little different from Virginia plantation houses dating a century earlier. It began as a side-passage-plan house but was enlarged to its symmetrical form within the decade. Its original owner was Albert Hankins whose forebears had owned the land since the mid-18th century. The one-story wings were added in 1913 by Louis C. Phillips. Phillips’s brother-in-law, Governor John Garland Pollard, spent much time at Riverview. The house, recently restored, is now within a development on a five-acre tract.
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: May 17, 2021
