Centre Hill Museum or Centre Hill Mansion as its proper name, completed initial construction in 1823 and was built by Revolutionary War veteran Robert Bolling IV. The Bollings were a very prominent family for many generations, being granted a plot of land in present-day Petersburg by the then King of England. Centre Hill served as Union headquarters during the reconstruction period; therefore, a meeting between a Union general and President Lincoln took place inside the home in 1865. President Taft also spent time on the property. Its doors were opened as a museum in the 1950s.

History

The mansion was built in 1823 by Robert Bolling IV, who had served in the Revolutionary Army.Virginia Tourism Corporation – retrieved 1/28/2013
/ref> An extensive remodeling was undertaken by Robert Buckner Bolling in the 1840s.City of Petersburg, Virginia – retrieved 1/28/2013
It is a two-story, five-bay, transitional

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style brick dwelling. An east wing was added about 1850. The front facade features a has a flat-roofed five-bay

verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

supported by six Greek

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

columns. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> It was listed 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 ...

in 1972. It is located in the Centre Hill Historic District. Today the house encompasses three American architectural styles. The mansion's South Facade is dominated by a

-style porch with ionic columns. Greek Revival architectural ornamentation is a feature of the interior, along with elements of early

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

and later Colonial Revival style. The 1840s renovation also included construction of a tunnel from the back of the house to nearby Henry Street. Slaves used the tunnel to carry food in and out of the house.Wallace, Lena. (2013, January 25). ''Guests are on the lookout for ghosts at Centre Hill Mansion''. The Progress-Index. Retrieved 1/28/2013:

Notable events

President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

spoke to Union soldiers occupying the mansion during a trip to Petersburg in April 1865. President William Howard Taft was a guest in May 1909. The mansion was used as a set in the made-for-TV movie ''

Killing Lincoln ''Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever'' is a book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard concerning the 1865 assassination of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. The book was released on September 27, 2011, and is ...

''. The mansion was also used as the set of the Green family home in the PBS drama ''

Mercy Street (TV series) ''Mercy Street'' was an American period medical drama television series created by Lisa Wolfinger and David Zabel. The series is based on the memoir, ''Adventures of an Army Nurse in Two Wars'', by Mary Phinney von Olnhausen. It is set during th ...

''.

Legends

Every January 24, the ghosts of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

soldiers are said to march up the stairs at 7:30 p.m. Twenty minutes later, the specters march back down the stairs and leave, slamming the front door behind them. Neighbors also have reported seeing a Lady in White standing at an upstairs window. The museum hosts a "Ghost Watch" on January 24 each year.

References

External links

Centre Hill Museum
– City of Petersburg site
Center Hill, Franklin Street, Petersburg, Petersburg, VA
2 photos at

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses in Petersburg, Virginia Historic house museums in Virginia History museums in Virginia Museums in Petersburg, Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Greek Revival houses in Virginia Houses completed in 1823 National Register of Historic Places in Petersburg, Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia