Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/16/1993
NRHP Listing Date 08/12/1993
NRHP Reference Number 93000834
A component of Clarke County’s outstanding collection of Federal plantation houses, Lucky Hit was built in 1791 by Col. Richard Kidder Meade, an aide-de-camp to George Washington. Meade gave the property its unusual name because he purchased it sight-unseen and considered himself “lucky” to have chosen such beautiful land. Lucky Hit was the childhood home of William Meade, the noted 19th-century Episcopal bishop of Virginia. The house is distinctive for having five bays on both its facade and its ends. The ends are given a formality by the use of pedimented gables. Most of the original Federal woodwork and early hardware remains on the interior. On the grounds are two original outbuildings: a summer kitchen and privy. From 1947 to 1973 the Lucky Hit property, which contributes to the Greenway Rural Historic District, was owned by Alexander Mackay-Smith, who modernized the house and added the west wing.
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
Updated: March 13, 2023
