Located near the hamlet of Wintergreen in Nelson County, on a steep bank of the South Fork of the Rockfish River in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the brick farmhouse of River Bluff began as a side-passage-plan, one-room house in 1785 for Nathaniel Clarke. It was made into a three-part dwelling by the addition of wings ca. 1810 during the ownership of Thomas Goodwin. One of the wings has a rare diaper-pattern decoration on the chimney. Through its transformation from a small rectangular structure to a stylish, if simplified, Palladian type, River Bluff illustrates how dwellers of Virginia’s remotest regions traded their rustic image for one more socially acceptable. Despite this effort, the asymmetry of the fenestration maintains an engaging provinciality. River Bluff’s scenic setting has changed little since the 19th century; it contributes to the South Rockfish Valley Rural Historic District.