Lewis Mountain, in Albemarle County, refers both to the stately mansion and the mountain directly west of the University of Virginia that it crowns. Designed by Charlottesville architect Eugene Bradbury, the house, a massive granite structure, along with its guest house and stable, was completed by 1911. Its architectural style pays tribute to the classicism introduced to the region by Thomas Jefferson, who encouraged use of the Roman architectural elements for the dwellings of Virginia’s Piedmont. The estate’s grounds were laid out by Boston landscape architect Warren H. Manning. Lewis Mountain was the dream of John Watts Kearny, a former Union Army officer, who took note of the site while passing through the region during the Civil War. He vowed to return some day and establish his home on the mountain’s summit.
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
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia