The Hill House was built circa 1825 by John Thompson (1768-1847), an entrepreneur, builder, and brick-making business proprietor. Captain of the 7th Virginia Regiment during the war of 1812, he also served a number of terms in the Virginia House of Delegates. He and his wife Elizabeth Cutler were childless but adopted her orphaned infant nephew, John Thompson Hill. Captain Thompson bequeathed the house to his adopted son, and so began the long line of Hills to reside there. John Thompson Hill literally married the girl next door, Mary Elizabeth Chandler, in 1838. A newspaper editor, poet, and author, John died at just 29 years of age, leaving his widow with two young sons, John Thompson Hill, Jr. and Chandler Woodward Hill. The brothers eventually assumed ownership of the house and married two sisters, Elizabeth Bembury Collins and Frances Gregory Collins, the daughters of Frances Gregory Collins and Dr. William Collins. Dr. Collins was a noted physician, member of the Virginia House of Delegates, first auditor of the treasury during the Tyler and Polk presidential administrations, and first president of the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad. Dr. Collins died of yellow fever while treating patients during the plague of 1855, an epidemic that killed 3,200 of Portsmouth’s 10,000 residents.
In 1956, the three surviving Hill sisters—Elizabeth, then 79; Evelyn, then 85; and Frances, then age 83—made a gift of Hill House and its contents to the Portsmouth Historical Association. They took care to ensure that their bestowal included every piece of furniture, china, crystal, pottery, carpet, and all the window dressings, paintings, ceramics, and household goods that had been collected over a period of 190 years by their extended family—the people who had lived in the house since its construction.
October 25, 2025 – The Hill House’s 200 Year Celebration
EVENT: Saturday, October 25, 2025 TIME: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. LOCATION: Hill House Museum and Gardens 221 North Street Portsmouth, VA 23704 ADMISSION: FREE to the public
TENTATIVE EVENT SCHEDULE
10:00 to 5:00 Re-enactors will create a small “Portsmouth Town Market” in the museum
gardens to include the “Crew of the Frigate Constellation” and
Colonial Williamsburg tradesmen demonstrations
11:00 to 11:40: Dan Schmit will portray John Thompson (builder of the home) and lead a
tour highlighting architectural elements and renovation details about the house.
12:00 to 12:45: Lunch for volunteers and outside re-enactors
Visitors can stroll through the museum and engage with re-enactors
or tour the “Market” in the gardens
1:00 to 2:00: Lecture exploring the construction process of the home with emphasis
on the use of skilled enslaved African American laborers.
Light refreshments to follow.
2:00 to 2:40: Dan Schmit will portray John Thompson (builder of the home) and lead
a tour highlighting architectural elements and renovation details
about the house.
3:00 to 4:00: Tidewater Winds Concert in the garden.
4:00 to 5:00: Celebration reception and plaque installation– all visitors welcome.
The Hill House Museum Celebrates 200 Years
August 27, 2025
The Hill House – Making History for 200 years
The Hill House was built circa 1825 by John Thompson (1768-1847), an entrepreneur, builder, and brick-making business proprietor. Captain of the 7th Virginia Regiment during the war of 1812, he also served a number of terms in the Virginia House of Delegates. He and his wife Elizabeth Cutler were childless but adopted her orphaned infant nephew, John Thompson Hill. Captain Thompson bequeathed the house to his adopted son, and so began the long line of Hills to reside there. John Thompson Hill literally married the girl next door, Mary Elizabeth Chandler, in 1838. A newspaper editor, poet, and author, John died at just 29 years of age, leaving his widow with two young sons, John Thompson Hill, Jr. and Chandler Woodward Hill. The brothers eventually assumed ownership of the house and married two sisters, Elizabeth Bembury Collins and Frances Gregory Collins, the daughters of Frances Gregory Collins and Dr. William Collins. Dr. Collins was a noted physician, member of the Virginia House of Delegates, first auditor of the treasury during the Tyler and Polk presidential administrations, and first president of the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad. Dr. Collins died of yellow fever while treating patients during the plague of 1855, an epidemic that killed 3,200 of Portsmouth’s 10,000 residents.
In 1956, the three surviving Hill sisters—Elizabeth, then 79; Evelyn, then 85; and Frances, then age 83—made a gift of Hill House and its contents to the Portsmouth Historical Association. They took care to ensure that their bestowal included every piece of furniture, china, crystal, pottery, carpet, and all the window dressings, paintings, ceramics, and household goods that had been collected over a period of 190 years by their extended family—the people who had lived in the house since its construction.
October 25, 2025 – The Hill House’s 200 Year Celebration
TIME: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
LOCATION: Hill House Museum and Gardens 221 North Street Portsmouth, VA 23704
ADMISSION: FREE to the public
TENTATIVE EVENT SCHEDULE
10:00 to 5:00 Re-enactors will create a small “Portsmouth Town Market” in the museum
gardens to include the “Crew of the Frigate Constellation” and
Colonial Williamsburg tradesmen demonstrations
11:00 to 11:40: Dan Schmit will portray John Thompson (builder of the home) and lead a
tour highlighting architectural elements and renovation details about the house.
12:00 to 12:45: Lunch for volunteers and outside re-enactors
Visitors can stroll through the museum and engage with re-enactors
or tour the “Market” in the gardens
1:00 to 2:00: Lecture exploring the construction process of the home with emphasis
on the use of skilled enslaved African American laborers.
Light refreshments to follow.
2:00 to 2:40: Dan Schmit will portray John Thompson (builder of the home) and lead
a tour highlighting architectural elements and renovation details
about the house.
3:00 to 4:00: Tidewater Winds Concert in the garden.
4:00 to 5:00: Celebration reception and plaque installation– all visitors welcome.