Nomination Form
The H. L. Bonham House, located adjacent to Interstate 81 on the southside of the town of Chilhowie in Smyth County, was completed in 1911 as the home of Hezekiah Love Bonham, a regionally prominent farmer and businessman who pioneered innovations in the cultivation, processing, and sale of apples in southwest Virginia. Designed in the Colonial Revival style by C. B. Kearfott, Jr., the Bonham House features classical detailing and retains all interior wood finishes and decorative mantels. Bonham worked closely with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute agricultural extension service to practice and publicize the effective application of scientific principles for fertilization and orchard management. In the adjacent town of Chilhowie, Bonham built the only cold storage facility for apple grading and packaging between Roanoke and Bristol. The property has gone on to serve the region as the H.L. Bonham Regional Development and Tourism Center.
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
