Jos. T. Samuels

Description: Here is one of Orange County’s most alluring homes. Built in 1941, the privacy amidst 70 year old boxwoods, magnolia and dogwood is absolute. The architect captured the essence of Provence with gracious proportion and scale in a brick home that has received much renovation from the present owners. The grand salon is a large ell and has a circular fireplace chimney; the chef’s kitchen has been recently remodeled; the dining room bay window overlooks a manicured lawn delineated by a boxwood line; there are two master suites upstairs as well as a first floor bedroom that could serve as a master as well. Heart pine floors are but one of the elements that make for a warm, mellowed interior. There are 14 acres of meadow and forest with a private pool and pool house. The grounds are exceptionally beautiful with specimen hickory, hemlock and maple. There are blueberries, a kiwi vine, sweet and sour cherry and fig. There is plenty of room for a guest house or stable and paddocks if so needed. The name “Signal Hill” has been associated with the property since the Civil War when, because of its elevation, it served as a Rapidan River signal post and campsite for Robert E. Lee’s army during the winter of 1863-64. Lee’s army camped here to guard the nearby Rapidan crossing anticipating the 1864 Spring Campaign from Grant’s troops stationed in Culpeper and Madison counties. Lee spent the winter in Orange and is reported to have visited the post at Signal Hill. The site was vacated upon Grant’s crossing at Germanna in eastern Orange where Lee was joined by Ewell, A.P. Hill, and Longstreet at the Battle of the Wilderness. Signal Hill is located minutes from James Madison’s Montpelier. $665,000.