Benton, also known as Spring Hill, is a house in

Loudoun County, Virginia Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

, near Middleburg. The house was built by William Benton, a brickmaker and builder, around 1831. Benton had made a journey to

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to collect an inheritance shortly after 1822 and there saw a house that he admired and wished to replicate on his own lands. He called the house "Spring Hill."

Description

The two-story house is a

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style structure with five bays and a center hall. Wings of three bays flank the main block. The first floor windows have been altered from six-over-six sash windows to French windows with sills close to the floor. The main entrance features double doors with

sidelight A sidelight or sidelite in a building is a window, usually with a vertical emphasis, that flanks a door or a larger window. Sidelights are narrow, usually stationary and found immediately adjacent doorways.Barr, Peter.Illustrated Glossary, 19th ...

s and a

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

above, which are also twentieth century alterations. The present entry replaced a small portico. The center second floor window was probably changed at this time as well, along with the dormers on the wings. The rear elevation is closer to the original. The interior is one room deep with large rooms flanking the center hall, which contains the stairs. The interior woodwork is largely original and is noteworthy. The house has several dependencies, including flanking outbuildings. The west dependency, called the "laundry house," is a -story brick building with two bays, a center chimney and an end chimney. The smaller east dependency may have been a smokehouse. The property features a large by brick barn of three stories, with an attached tenant house.

History

Benton continued to work as a brickmaker and builder after the construction of the house, and was employed by

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

among others. The Bentons retained the property until 1894, when it was purchased by Joshua Hatcher, who sold to Daniel Sands in 1908. Sands undertook renovations, established extensive gardens and changed the name to "Benton." Sands bought surrounding acreage and established a prominent horse farm on the property. The house and were sold to Mr. and Mrs. James Nicklin in 1954, who sold to Mr. and Mrs. William T. Leith in 1961. Benton was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on June 14, 1984.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Loudoun County, Virginia Federal architecture in Virginia Houses completed in 1830 Houses in Loudoun County, Virginia 1830 establishments in Virginia