Shingled gables with sawn and turned ornaments, bracketed cornices, and rich carving in the porch pediment are just some of the varied wood details that embellish the complex geometry of this important Queen Anne structure built in 1891-92. It not only occupies a conspicuous corner of West Main Street but also an important place in area history as the home of Andrew Jackson Montague. In 1885, “Jack” Montague as he was sometimes called, chose Danville to launch his legal and political career. While he and his family lived in this house he ran, successfully, for Attorney General of Virginia; that position led him into the Governor’s mansion five years later. After his term as Governor, Montague went on to become Dean of the Law School at the University of Richmond from 1906 to 1912. In 1912 he was elected to Congress, where he served until his death in 1927. 

When the Montagues left Danville in 1898, they did not immediately sell their home—not until 1904 did it become the property of Loula G. Reagan, who lived here some forty years. During World War II she converted the house to apartments. When it was sold in 1946 and for 20 years thereafter, the house was used as rental property. Since 1967 it has been used primarily as a single-family dwelling, first by Mr. and Mrs. James T. Gauldin, who lived here until several years ago—during which time they completed much-needed exterior restoration—and most recently by Mr. Lewis Dumont. Mr. Dumont, who purchased the landmark Montague home only last summer, already is well underway in his plans to bring out its potential. Systematically he has been cleaning and polishing early-electric brass fixtures, having stained glass repaired, and adding to the rooms his collection of handsome antique oak and other turn-of-the-century and period furniture.