Edge Hill, Amherst County, VA (005-0005)

Edge Hill is significant under Criterion C for architecture. The house, constructed 1833, is a well-preserved example of Federal-style architecture in Amherst County. Its significant exterior Federal-style features include the decorative lintels on the main elevation and the parapets and wooden inserts on the gable ends. On the interior, the decorative mantels were influenced by pattern books of the day such as Asher Benjamin’s The American Builder’s Companion. Other significant features of the property include the use of oil bricks for construction. Oil bricks, laid in Flemish bond, were generally used for facades, as was done at the Pavilions at the University of Virginia. However, the main section of Edge Hill used oil bricks for the entire exterior, not just the façade, as at Bremo Plantation in Fluvanna County. Attached to the main house is the earliest structure on the property, a c. 1801 house.

Surrounding the house are what appear to be the remains of 19th century formal gardens: the circular mound in front of the house and a concentric circular garden on its west side. The property retains several of its outbuildings and among these is the only remaining Amherst County 19th–century sawmill with its machinery. This property --both the house with its intact architectural features and the surrounding grounds and outbuildings -- retains much of its historical integrity despite changes and alterations over time and serves as a tangible reminder of 19th-century life in Amherst County. Edge Hill was the property of the Walker Family from 1801 to 1947. In 1984, Virginia Fibre/Greif Brothers purchased the house for use as a corporate guesthouse, and in 2004 Edge Hill again became a private residence.

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