Nearly thirty years after the death of Charles Sublett, who built the High Victorian Gothic- style brick mansion at 878 Main Street, his widow Jennie and her second husband, E. Howe Miller, subdivided the rear of their deep lot at the corner of Chestnut Place. There they added four essentially identical row houses, completed in 1905 at a total cost of $5,200. Some attribute these dwellings to the firm of Deitrick & Pearson, contractors working in the area at the time overseeing the rebuilding and enlargement of the First Baptist Church, which had been severely damaged by fire in May of 1905. 

The design of each house employed the popular side-hall floorplan, with an inset porch aligned to the right, just under the second-floor sewing room. Each facade was simply ornamented with shingled gables and touches of geometric, stained glass. Together, the repetition of these forms gives these structures, and the street, great dignity. Older citizens also recall the succession of well-regarded Danvillians who for many years called one these houses their home—Mr. & Mrs. A.T. Gunn and Mr. & Mrs. Horace Bass, among many other families. 

In April of 2000, after 125 years in the same family, the Sublett-Miller property was offered for sale at an estate auction. Tom and Carla Belles, of Falls Church, Virginia, placed the high bid for the Main Street mansion that had been home to three generations of the family of E. Howe Miller. Interested neighbors and property owners in the area purchased the 95- year-old row houses, which were auctioned individually. By the end of the morning the four houses had four eager new owners, each with an eye toward upgrading their property either for resale, rental or as their own home. 

Three of these recently-renovated houses, now home to young professionals, are open for the tour: number 10 Chestnut Place was purchased by Pete and Dale Castiglione, whose refurbishing of the house attracted the attention of its present owner, Mr. Randy Morris, who has continued adding finishing touches to his new home. Number 12 was purchased and updated by Mr. Thomas H. Allen, Jr., who at the time of the auction was living around the corner on Main Street. Number 14 was purchased and restored by Mark and Jan Harris, owners of nearby Midtown Market. The house is now occupied by Ms. Lisa Turner. She and her parents, who operate a bed-and-breakfast inn in Chatham, Virginia, have been fans of old-house living and decorating for many years.