Monday, March 24, 2025

Oak Hill

Image of a brick house with a central two-story wing and one-story side wings. The building large colonial style windows with shutters and a brick arched doorway. A gravel entrance road leads up to the front. The house is surrounded by trees and grass.
Oak Hill, north façade

Just off of Route 15 south of Leesburg, Virginia is one of the last remaining presidential homes of a founding father still in private hands. Though, for better or worse, it might not continue to be. Let's take a look at Oak Hill, a hidden oasis in jeopardy.


In 1794, James Monroe and his uncle Judge Joseph Jones co-bought the property. Monroe didn't do much with it initially, letting his uncle and subsequent estate managers run things. However, after getting increasingly involved in federal government nearby throughout the 1810's, he started to have more of a personal hand in matters. He primarily used the property as a plantation, run with a mix of hired laborers and enslaved individuals. 

During Monroe's presidency, he had the current manor home built 1822-23. The home seems to have been a collaborative effort, with James Hoban (also architect of the White House) and George Bomford the main designers, but Thomas Jefferson also gave some suggestions on the project. It featured a central wing with contrasting façades, a Georgian front entranceway and a Neoclassical back porch marked with an unusual five columns across its portico. 

A black-and-white image of a two story home with a portico, five columns across. On the end is a small one-story wing.
Oak Hill south and east façades, c. 1915
Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

It was at Oak Hill that Monroe drafted his self-titled doctrine. It was also where he hosted the Marquis de Lafayette for several days during the latter's 1824-25 famed Farewell Tour through America. Following the end of his presidency, Monroe continued to live and manage Oak Hill. After the death of his wife and at the urging of his daughters, Monroe left the property in 1830 for New York City. He would pass away the next year.

Following Monroe's death, the property initially stayed in his family. After 1850, they sold it off, and it started exchanging hands every few decades. In 1949, the property was deeded to the current owners' family. 

Throughout all this time, Oak Hill has remained a working farm with 1,200 acres of land. The manor house has mainly structurally stayed the same, with only its wings receiving extensions in the 1920's. It remains in terrific condition and well preserved.

Image of an end of the Oak Hill mansion, showcasing the two story wing addition added in the 1920's. The rest of the brick house is blocked from view by boxwoods and trees.
The west façade, expanded in the 1920's.

Due to its private ownership, it can easily come and go from public consciousness. It's also surrounded by large boxwood, so it's very easy to drive past it and not know it's there. However, sometimes its gates are opened up and the public is allowed to check out the property. It has been featured in many Garden Weeks throughout the years, as well as historic presentations.

An image of a gravel road, lined by large boxwoods surrounded by trees.. The road disappears into the distant boxwood foliage.

Recently, the current owners have decided to downsize in their older age. Many developers have proposed buying the property from them for tens of millions of dollars, but the owners have turned them down. Even though they are ending their tenure as stewards, they want the land and house preserved for future generations. Currently, they have been working towards the Commonwealth of Virginia making the house and land into a state park. While this was partially killed by the Senate's Finance and Appropriations Committee, Governor Glenn Youngkin has included an amendment to the state budget to consider Oak Hill as a state park. This is ongoing, so we shall see where it goes.

An image of the two-story portico of Oak Hill from the ground level. The columns and trim are white against the building's red brick. Boxwood and trees overflow from the edges of the view.
South façade portico 

If it doesn't become a state park, Oak Hill will most likely go into the hands of developers, who will fill its 1,200 acres with residential houses. Do we really need to fill every open space in Loudoun County with more houses? No. Loudoun has become too built up.

This is a property of national significance. It's part of our history, and the house and its lands deserve to be preserved. The public should be able to visit this home and learn all of the facets of life that were present on the property.

The Conservation Fund is currently running a petition to urge the Commonwealth to save Oak Hill. If you are so moved, you can sign your name on the petition HERE. 
 

I'll end this post with some more photos. I took these in 2019 during a Mosby Heritage Area Association (now known as the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association) event hosted at Oak Hill. Photography was only allowed outside.

Another image of the georgian front façade of Oak Hill. A line of three people spaced out walks toward the front door.

An image of the detail around Oak Hill's front door, including windows arching around the door. The window above the door has a sunbeam design, while the side windows have a curvy diamond. Between the door and the side windows are small, thin, white columns.
Detail on the front door

An image of four white wooden chairs and tables on the grass. They are looking out toward a distant view of hilly landscape, partially hidden by boxwoods and trees surrounding the grassy area.
View from the front yard

An image on the back portico at Oak Hill, looking towards the side. Large plants block most of the view. A line of people are standing to the right with their backs to the camera.
On the back portico

An image of the Oak Hill terraced garden. It is overflowing with plants. While green is the predominant color, there are dots of pink flowers and splattering of some yellow-green plants. A pathway of spaced-out stones goes toward the Oak Hill mansion in the distance, it's portico partially visible through plants.
View of the house from the terraced gardens
The decorative gardens were established in the 1920's.

An image of a stone path leading up to a yellow and white wooden shed. Plants with supports in dirt beds grow on either side of the path. Ivy is over the shed. The ground is wet.
Garden Shed

A view of the acres of land

A one-story wooden gable colonial building sits in a grassy area surrounded by trees. Directly out of the middle of its roof is a wooden rectangular tower three stories higher than the rest of the building. A weathervane sits on top.
Oak Hill Springhouse
Spring house from Monroe's time
Rectangular water tower addition added c. 1875

A golden bell from the USS Oak Hill hangs from a white metal arch. The arch is in front of a mass of ivy. Trees and an overcast sky are in the background.
Bell from the USS Oak Hill (1943-1969)

A gray floofy cat with yellow eyes meows at the camera. It sits on a stone floor with wooden doors/shutters behind it.
A fluffy cat on the property [name unknown]



Oak Hill NRHP File
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