West Cote is set dramatically on a sweeping hillside overlooking the confluence of the James and Rockfish Rivers, in the Southern Albemarle Rural Historic District. The design of the brick Classical Revival mansion is associated with the group of houses in central Virginia that were constructed by builders who were either involved in or influenced by the construction of the University of Virginia or other Jeffersonian buildings. Surviving outbuildings include a guesthouse, smokehouse, corncrib, and stable. An unusually wide and deep antebellum well is also noteworthy. The house was built for William Howard Carter, who owned a ferry at the foot of the hill. West Cote features important Federal woodwork executed by an unknown craftsman whose work can be found in several houses in the Albemarle County area.