Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 02/19/1980
NRHP Listing Date 05/07/1980
NRHP Reference Number 80004208
On a tree-shaded hill overlooking the town of Orange, Berry Hill is a Jeffersonian-style house attributed to William B. Phillips and Malcolm F. Crawford, master builders employed by Thomas Jefferson during the construction of the University of Virginia. The house originally had an open portico above the arcaded ground floor and thus closely resembled Pavilion VII at the university. The portico was walled in soon after the house was completed in 1824 for Reynolds Chapman, the county clerk. The two-story wing, however, is part of the original construction. Even in its altered form, the house is one of the most successful adaptations of the Jeffersonian idiom for a private residence. Although Phillips and Crawford have not been documented as having worked at Berry Hill, they were known to Chapman and were building Jeffersonian-style structures in the area at the time.
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: April 29, 2021
