Great Escape: Oatlands Plantation

The Lorton area has its share of historic sites. This week I decided to visit a plantation a bit further north.

Wednesday arrived damp, gloomy and very English. For some mysterious reason it gave me an urge to visit an English garden, which eventually led me to visit Oatlands Plantation off Rte. 15 up near Leesburg. 

“Oatlands was first built in 1804 by George Carter,” said Kirsten Edwards, the Curator of Collections and Education at the site.  “He added to it until the 1820s, changing it from a Federalist style to more of a Greek-revivalist style, until he passed it to his widow who managed it through the Civil War years.”

The mansion contains numerous architectural features popular at the time, including a white-stucco façade made to look like stone, a portico and octagonal rooms and staircases. Later owners William and Edith Eustis were avid preservationists who made few changes to the architecture, so it exists very much as it did in the early 19th century.

The garden, built by Carter in the English style and restored by Edith Eustis, consists of terraced walkways, towering trees and abundant flowers. On beautiful spring days it blooms abundantly, giving rise to fanciful thoughts of Alice in Wonderland, making it a shame I chose to visit on such a gloomy day. My thoughts turned from the fanciful to the historic instead, because it’s hard to ignore Oatlands’ dark past.

The Civil War proved very hard for the Carter family. The Plantation, as beautiful as it may have been, was built on the backs of an ample slave population; the largest in Loudoun County. According to the Oatlands Plantation website, when it was first established, the Carter family owned 17 slaves. By the time of the Civil War, that number had risen to 128. As one would expect, the Carter family had little resources once the war concluded, and struggled to keep the home afloat. “They made it a school, and a summer getaway for awhile, but eventually had to sell the property,” Edwards said.

For me, the home represents the dilemma at the core of so many Virginia historic sites; how to celebrate history while remembering the ugliness that frequently lies beneath it. Sitting in the English garden, you can’t help but wonder who built it.

Oatlands Plantation is open daily through December 30 with tours occurring hourly.  Admission is $10 for adults, $7 if you just tour the garden and grounds.

They also host numerous events throughout the year. See their website for more details.