Built in 1810-14, Prospect Hill is an architectural document frozen in time. The undisturbed condition of the massive yet restrained exterior, and the plain but sophisticated woodwork inside makes the house an excellent representative of the spacious but unpretentious center-passage dwellings favored by the period’s gentry. The Spotsylvania County house was constructed by builder Spotswood Dabney Crenshaw for Waller Holladay. Holladay experimented with crop rotation and fertilization at Prospect Hill, an early effort at restoring farmlands depleted by tobacco growing. Holladay also held various local offices and served in the General Assembly. Prospect Hill’s historic flavor is enhanced by the survival of several early outbuildings. Still owned by the Holladay family, Prospect Hill is now known as Littlepage Inn. A collection of architectural drawings in the Holladay family papers at the Virginia Historical Society appear to be preliminary studies for the house.
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