Diamond Hill became home to Lynchburg’s elite | Local News
Houses in the Diamond Hill historic district in Lynchburg on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
Houses in the Diamond Hill historic district in Lynchburg on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
Pearl and Madison Streets are two of the main streets that make up the Diamond Hill historic district in Lynchburg on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
Stairs leading up to the Diamond Hill historic district in Lynchburg on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
The historical marker for the Diamond Hill historic district in Lynchburg on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
The Alexander Simpson home built in 1850 on 13th street in the Diamond Hill neighborhood of Lynchburg as seen on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
Maria and Joshua Rolf poses for a portrait in the kitchen of their home built by Alexander Simpson in 1850 on 13th street in the Diamond Hill neighborhood of Lynchburg on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
The living room in the Alexander Simpson home built in 1850 on 13th street in the Diamond Hill neighborhood of Lynchburg as seen on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
A house in the 700 block of Pearl Street in the historic Diamond Hill neighborhood of Lynchburg on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020.
The front entryway a house in the 700 block of Pearl Street in the historic Diamond Hill neighborhood of Lynchburg on Monday, Nov. 23, 2020.
The dining room in the McIntosh home in the 700 block of Pearl Street in the historic Diamond Hill neighborhood of Lynchburg on Monday, Nov. 23, 2020.
An interior view of a living room inside Genevieve Whittemore’s historic mansion on Friday Dec. 20, 2019 in the Diamond Hill Historic District.
An exterior shot showcasing the intricate details of Genevieve Whittemore’s historic mansion on Friday Dec. 20, 2019 in the Diamond Hill Historic District.
A interior view of the dining room inside Genevieve Whittemore’s historic mansion on Friday Dec. 20, 2019 in the Diamond Hill Historic District.
A hallway at the home of Sterling Wilder in Lynchburg on November 13, 2019.
The home of Sterling Wilder in Lynchburg on November 13, 2019.
A dining room at the home of Sterling Wilder in Lynchburg on November 13, 2019.
The home of Julie and Vernon Neighbors in Lynchburg on October 10, 2019.
The large front porch Vernon Neighbor had been working on features ornate ironwork and a beadboard ceiling.
A detail at the home of Julie and Vernon Neighbors in Lynchburg on October 10, 2019.
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Tucked just to the east of Lynchburg’s downtown sits Diamond Hill.
It’s one of those neighborhoods that most residents don’t pass through unless they’re looking for it, but contained within the historic district are some of the city’s most stunning examples of mid-19th century residential architecture.
Following its inception in the mid 1800s, the neighborhood grew to become the place to live for the city’s elite — the mayors and the businessmen.
“Diamond Hill, once one of Lynchburg’s most fashionable residential neighborhoods, enjoyed its greatest prosperity at the turn of the century,” according to the historic district’s application for inclusion in the National Historic Register.
“This period was marked by construction of numerous new residences ranging from speculative builder-rental units to stately, architect-designed townhouses. Prominent businessmen and civic leaders including bankers, tobacco manufacturers, attorneys, mayors, councilmen, and state legislators, clustered in this area along Washington, Clay, Pearl, and Madison streets, erecting large houses for themselves and their families.”
As is the fate of many of Lynchburg’s antebellum neighborhoods, though, those families moved away or died off and a number of the old mansions fell into disrepair or were subdivided into apartments.