Nomination Form
Tobacconist, merchant, and railroad investor Samuel Miller (1792-1869) rose from poverty to become one of the wealthiest men in the antebellum South. A recluse, he resided in this unpretentious ca. 1826 frame house on the outskirts of Lynchburg and quietly amassed his fortune. During the Battle of Lynchburg (June 1864), a cavalry skirmish took place here, and Union troops pillaged Miller’s home. Upon entering, they encountered an elderly, bedridden but defiant Samuel Miller who had successfully hidden his important financial papers. Considered a miser during his lifetime, but a generous philanthropist after death, Miller bequeathed both funds and land to the city of Lynchburg. His educational endowments today help support the University of Virginia and two institutions that bear his name: The Miller School of Albemarle and the Miller Home for Girls of Lynchburg.
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
Nomination Form
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
