Erected for Benjamin H. Brady, the ca. 1815 Hilltop mansion, on the Mary Baldwin College campus in the city of Staunton, is dominated by an original two-story portico with stately Tuscan columns and a delicate Federal cornice. Hilltop was one of Staunton’s most conspicuous and elegant residences during the half century after its construction. Circuit Judge Lucas P. Thompson lived here from 1842 until his death in 1866. In 1872 the property was purchased from his estate by the Augusta Female Academy under the leadership of Mary Julia Baldwin, whose name the college now bears. A large wing designed by local architect T. J. Collins was added to the rear in 1904. Hilltop, now a residence hall, was restored in 1991.