Chapel Hill is a historic

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

located near Berryville,

Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,783. Its county seat is Berryville. Clarke County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistic ...

. The oldest sections of the main house dates to the mid-1820s and is in the

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

style. They are the central two-story, six-bay section, which consists of two distinct gable-roofed blocks; and the two-story, three-bay section now at the southernmost end of the house. The house was remodeled and enlarged in 1941 in the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

style, after plans drawn up by George L. Howe, a Washington, DC architect. Also on the property are the contributing stable, groom's house, frame bank barn, machine shed,

corncrib A corn crib or corncrib is a type of granary used to dry and store corn. It may also be known as a cornhouse or corn house. Overview After the harvest and while still on the cob, corn is placed in the crib either with or without the husk. The ...

, barn, chicken coop, and three small sheds. The property was purchased by

William J. Donovan William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Bur ...

(1883-1959) in 1938, who subsequently undertook the renovation and expansion of the main house. Architect

George L. Howe George Locke Howe (1898–1977) was an intelligence operative in World War II, an author, and a well-known architect in the Washington, D.C. area. His 1949 novel ''Call It Treason,'' drawn from his war experience using captured German soldiers to ...

designed alterations and additions during 1938–1941. an
''Accompanying four 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 ...

in 2004.

References

Plantation houses in Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Clarke County, Virginia Federal architecture in Virginia Colonial Revival architecture in Virginia Houses completed in 1825 Houses in Clarke County, Virginia {{ClarkeCountyVA-NRHP-stub