Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 04/15/1980
NRHP Listing Date 07/30/1980
NRHP Reference Number 80004203
Bon Aire, built ca. 1812 by Dr. George Cabell, Jr., is a three-part country house, inspired by Palladian forms and popularized in 18th-century English pattern books such as Robert Morris’s Select Architecture (1755). The designer of the house has not been identified, but the tripartite organization of the floor plan and many details relate Bon Aire to Point of Honor in Lynchburg, built for Dr. Cabell’s cousin, Dr. George Cabell. Placed on a steep slope above the James River and constructed in native materials of red brick and whitewashed wood trim, Bon Aire exemplifies the process by which Virginia builders manipulated the scale, plan, details, and materials of English prototypes to conform to local conditions. The present portico and dormers are 20th-century additions. Bon Aire is one of several architecturally distinguished houses in the vicinity built by members of the Cabell family.
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: July 6, 2022
