History of Lynchburg Part 6-Federal Hill-History of a Neighborhood
"Lynchburg is growing more rapidly than any town I have ever known in any country." So Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1817. He might have added that much of that growth was occurring on a certain hill just to the southwest of the original town limits. In fact, Federal Hill, as it soon came to be called, was Lynchburg's first residential suburb.
Two annexations, one in 1814, just prior to Jefferson's observation, the second following in 1819, brought Federal Hill within the town's jurisdiction. The wording of deeds transferring property from the town's founder, John Lynch, to others indicates that annexation of the area had always been intended. Lots had been surveyed "in conformity with the plan of the said town of Lynchburg with the privilege of streets and alleys as if it were within the actual limits of the town."
Because of the topography (Federal Hill, after all, is first and foremost a hill), some of those streets have never been opened, and still exist primarily on paper plats. Today's visitor will notice, perhaps with surprise, that a number of Federal Hill's streets dead-end at a bluff or cliff, only to pick up a block or so later, at a higher or - depending on your point of view - lower elevation.
The many Federal-style houses built during Lynchburg's early nineteenth-century era of prosperity still define the neighborhood. When Federal Hill was studied in 1974, preparatory to being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, the Virginia Landmarks Commission declared that few Piedmont cities of the South can boast of such a distinguished grouping of Federal dwellings."
Throughout the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, Federal Hill continued as a "good address." In fact, it was one of Lynchburg's best. It was on Federal Hill in 1855 that gas was first introduced into a private house in Lynchburg, and soon after the Civil War ended, Lynchburg's first millionaire (having gotten rich on tobacco) elected to build his fashionable Second Empire mansion on the slopes of Federal Hill
Architecturally, this continued growth throughout the 19th century meant that flat Greek Revival lintels soon began to appear alongside the splayed jack-arches of the Federal houses. Here and there, beginning around the time of Civil War, Italianate brackets began to embellish cornices, some of them on new houses, some of them on older ones whose owners wanted to be architecturally up-to-date. John W. Carroll, that first millionaire, introduced Lynchburg to the Second Empire style, both in his own house and in those he soon provided for his progeny nearby.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Lynchburg prospered anew as it sought to forget the war to become a leading player in the progressive drama of development called the "New South." Though new suburbs were laid out and soon built upon, stretching the city limits ever farther in all directions, Federal Hill continued as a prime residential venue. Houses built during these years were generally in the ornate Queen Anne style, often in striking architectural contrast with the earlier, more sedate neighbors
At the turn of the century, the hill's centrality and prominence were acknowledged when the Lynchburg High School - Queen Anne writ large - went up on Federal Street. By this time, though, Federal Hill was largely built up, and construction of the school resulted in the demolition of one of the best of the early houses.
Similarly, the 1909 construction of "Federal Crest (pic right") the last of the large-scale houses on the hill, and the sole example of the newly popular Georgian Revival style, was accomplished only by the destruction of one of the city's most important ante-bellum Italian villas.
Through all periods of growth, Federal Hill never abandoned its residential role. It was close enough to downtown Lynchburg for its residents to shop there, and even closer to the nearby churches on Court Street for Sunday worship.
As the wide-awake twentieth century progressed elsewhere, Federal Hill was seldom disturbed by the sounds of new construction. The high school moved away fairly early, leaving the building to become a local elementary school.
The neighborhood began to nod off a bit, then dozed, took a nap, and almost went into a deep sleep. Definitely isolated from the surrounding urban areas by its topography, and blessedly still not bisected by any "through streets" with their attendant traffic, or worse - pressures to demolish for commercial enterprises - Federal Hill became a quiet backwater, its houses still lived in and loved, but hardly the center of activity and prosperity they once had been.
Since there was little pressure for change, wonderful amenities such as flagstone sidewalks, cast-iron fences - things that some preservationists call "street furniture" - remained in place, and still do. As time went on, though, many single-family dwellings were converted into rooming houses, paint was applied less and less frequently, and an unmistakable air of decline set it.
Fortunately, within the last several decades, that direction not only been arrested, it has been reversed. The acceptance of the district into the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 was a step in the right direction, as was its designation as a locally zoned historic district 1978.
The school took a new lease on life when it was converted into apartments, an adaptive use that was lauded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Federal Hill can now even boast a preservation "first"
The Gordon House(pic right) 1023 Jackson Street was the first house in the Commonwealth to be advertised and sold through the Virginia Historic Preservation Foundation, the state-wide revolving fund established in 1988 to promote the sale and protection of historic properties.
The Federal Hill Historical Association, established in 1993,is doing its part to insure that the neighborhood will remain an attractive, convenient, residential area for Lynchburg, and that its notable houses will remain a major component of Lynchburg's - and Virginia's - historic patrimony.
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