Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 02/15/1977
NRHP Listing Date 05/06/1980
NRHP Reference Number 80004210
At the North Carolina border, Berry Hill is a remarkably complete Southside plantation grouping with a sprawling, much evolved dwelling house and some twenty outbuildings. This unusually high number of support structures preserves a rare image of the complexity of these large agricultural units, run essentially as industries. Most of the farm structures are log, while the outbuildings, including the kitchen/laundry, dairy, and smokehouse are wood frame, illustrating an architectural hierarchy sometimes employed in secondary structures. The present form of the main house is the result of accommodating the nine generations of the Perkins, Wilson, Hairston, Sims families who have owned the property since the 1760s. The oldest section, possibly 18th-century, began as a plain three-bay structure. The house is now a jumble of wings, chimneys, porches, and roofs, the latest section dating from around 1910.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: February 24, 2021
