Bedford’s historic Elk Hill getting new attention

FOREST -- The view from Elk Hill is like a portal to Bedford County's scenic beauty and has been for centuries.

Nestled in a field off Perrowville Road several miles north of Jefferson Forest High School, the two-story brick home was built from 1797 to 1802. Passing through ownership of several families, it sat vacant during the past decade.

Richard Chaffin, a developer and Forest resident, bought the property in late 2008 to restore it.

He said he hasn't decided on an ultimate use for the house and the 400 acres, but renovation should be substantially complete within the next two months.

"I've known the property for many, many years," Chaffin said. "I just felt like it was an opportunity to restore it back to its original grandeur and make it a very special place once again."

The property is on the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places, which limit alterations.

"There are stipulations with properties like this," said David Vaughan, a business partner of Chaffin's who leads the renovation effort. "It can never be developed -- it can never have more than three homes on it. You couldn't go back and put a subdivision there. It has to stay as it is."

Vaughan and Chaffin worked on a similar project -- the Inn at Trivium in the Goode area, which was built in 1832. It is now a bed and breakfast that also is a weddings venue.

Vaughan compared its architecture to nearby Poplar Forest and said Elk Hill was once an orchard. A single-room doctor's office and a guesthouse that was once a kitchen for the main house are also on the site, along with gardens and a tennis court.

Cabins close to the main house that once housed slaves were destroyed in a fire, he said.

The house was built by Waddy Cobb and is described in online Department of Historic Resources documents as "a fine piedmont Federal plantation house."

Three generations of the Nelsons lived there, including Dr. Thomas Hugh Nelson -- the grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Writer Thomas Nelson Page worked on his writings while visiting relatives at the house. Poet Robert Frost was another notable visitor.

The property also was owned by the Hodges family until the 1990s and was given an extensive renovation in 1928 by John Hodges.

"In today's money, he spent a whole lot," Chaffin said.

Vaughan said several people tried unsuccessfully to renovate the home during recent years. An investment group bought it, then sold it to Vaughan.

Though Vaughan admits there are many challenges in renovating historic homes, it's something he enjoys.

"You sort of have to know where to stop and where to start," he said. "It's not like building anything new."
Justin Faulconer is a staff writer for The News & Advance in Lynchburg.