Most easily visible in the winter months when the trees that line the drive and provide a substantial surrounding canopy are bare, Tree Hill still lives up to its name. Built by Miles Selden, a delegate in Virginia's General Assembly, Tree Hill now displays its evolution through construction campaigns. Originally a moderately simple chimney-bracketed frame building, the house was updated c. 1808 with wings and front and rear porticoes. Several early outbuildings near the house include a smokehouse and kitchen. Selden's son-in-law, William Roane, who served in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, inherited the property in 1837. The Burlee family purchased the property in 1910 and ran a successful dairy operation. Substantial early twentieth-century dairy buildings stand in the floodplain adjacent to the James River. Some of the most spectacular views of Tree Hill are from the James River, or from river vantage points along Richmond's eastern riverfront. Barely three miles away from the state capitol, Tree Hill's rural setting contrasts with the spectacular views of the modern Richmond skyline.