Of typical Italian villa features, only the tower is missing, a deletion which would have caused a significant reduction in cost with little loss of comfort or convenience. After the Whittle and Sims family, the house has been owned by Walker, Overbey, Coles, and Grubb families. Since 1975 it has been the residence of Henry and Patricia Mitchell and family, who also offer bed and breakfast accommodations. The Boswell House on Ridge Street, overlooking Depot Street, is Chatham's best-preserved Italianate house. Likely built during the 1880's, its facade is a study in symmetry, with two identical gables above matching bay windows, and a columned and bracketed porch between.
Brackets also grace the bays and the eaves.
The house has been owned and meticulously maintained by two generations of the Boswell family for over sixty years. At 975 Main Street in nearby Danville is seen a remarkable Italian villa, designed by Frank B. Clopton of Richmond and built for Maj. William T. Sutherlin in 1857-58. The Sutherlin House's exterior is of stuccoed brick, and it boasts arched windows and cornices and a belvedere. Its stunning plaster cornices in the formal rooms include freestanding design elements.