A little altered example of Tidewater Virginia vernacular architecture, Poplar Hill was built ca. 1793 for John Stott, a native of Scotland who came to Virginia with two brothers, settling in Isle of Wight County. Though built for a Scotsman, the house shows no hint of any specifically Scottish character. It is, rather, a standard hall/parlor frame dwelling with dormers and end chimneys, a house type preferred by the region’s middling planters. Stott was an enterprising individual. He purchased nearby Wrenn’s Mill and by his death in 1814, he owned 700 acres along with livestock, slaves, a brandy still, and $1350 in cash. A noteworthy original feature in the house is the stenciled decoration on three of the stair risers. Poplar Hill has been passed down through the same family to the present day.