This stately Federal mansion was built by Captain William Norvell (1770-1823) on land purchased from John Lynch in 1814. It was completed between 1815-1817.

Captain Norvell was President of the Office of Discount and Deposit of the Bank of Virginia from its establishment until his untimely death in 1823. Upon his death, his daughter Lucy Wilhelmina Norvell and her husband John Matthews Otey moved into the house. They had been living at 1002 Federal Street, built also by Captain Norvell. Finally in 1836 to settle the Norvell estate, the Otey's purchased the elegant home. John Matthews Otey (1792-1859) was born near Liberty in Bedford County, not far from Poplar Forest, the rural retreat of Thomas Jefferson. The Norvell and Otey families were lifelong friends of Jefferson. In 1826, John Otey helped raised funds in Lynchburg to aid his friend Thomas Jefferson in the time of his insolvency. Later in the year, upon Jefferson's death, Otey and his brother-in-law, William Wiatt Norvell, were among the seven marshalls at Jefferson’s memorial service.

Otey was the president of the Lynchburg Board of Aldermen for many years. He was cashier of the Bank of Virginia when he died in 1859. Seven of his sons and a son-in-law fought for the Confederacy. Subsequent owners included Senator Peter J. Otey, Clairborne W. Gooch, and J.W. Bibee.

Lucy Norvell Otey was a prominent citizen in her own right. Among her many achievements was the reorganizing and cleaning up of the confederate hospital sites in Lynchburg during the War Between The States. Lynchburg was the center of the major transportation arteries, the James River and the railroad. Because of this, there were as many as 50,000 wounded troops in the city at any given time. In Lucy's initial attempt she met with much resistance from the Army surgeons. They thought a hospital was no place for a woman and certainly not a woman who was telling them how to run the hospital. She was forbidden entrance to the hospitals. This did not deter Lucy who was quite progressive for her time. She boarded a train to Richmond to meet with Jefferson Davis. She sought the authority to pursue her goal of reforming the hospitals. Lucy received written orders from Jefferson Davis giving her full reign over the hospitals.

Lucy is believed to be one of only two women commissioned by Jefferson Davis as Captain in the Confederate Army. Due to her efforts Lynchburg hospitals had the lowest mortality rates of all the hospitals during the war.