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Oatlands’ Garden and Grounds OPEN daily 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Visitor Center open Friday thru Sunday. Tours at 11am, 12pm, and 2pm.
Mon-Thurs, Tours available by booking online 24 hours prior.
Questions: 703-727-0670

Oatlands will be closed for the season beginning December 28th.
We will be reopening for the season sometime in March of 2024.
Thank you for all of your support throughout the year!
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Washington Post: Oatlands, a historic Virginia home, is at center of bitter legal fight

There was nothing to suggest disquiet on a crisp spring morning at Oatlands Historic House and Gardens in Leesburg late last month. Birds chirped and a light breeze fluttered through the handsome trees lining the long gravel driveway leading to the mansion on this property, a national historic landmark that dates back almost 220 years.

But the bucolic tranquility masked a simmering battle over money and vision that boiled over in March when Oatlands Inc., the private nonprofit organization that operates the 400-acre site, filed a lawsuit against the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which owns the property and its endowment of about $7.8 million.

Each side in the partnership — or co-stewardship — accuses the other of not meeting its obligations or responsibilities when it comes to maintaining and preserving the property. Instead of seeing eye to eye, they’re going toe to toe with charges and countercharges about what is or isn’t being done to preserve Oatlands and how to pay for costly repairs, including fixing a leaky roof and a rotting balustrade.

Caleb Schutz, who was named chief executive of Oatlands Inc. in 2018, said his group wanted the suit to settle whether the nonprofits charged with operating and maintaining historic sites such as Oatlands in partnership with the National Trust have autonomy to make decisions over the use of their endowment funds and to make deals to ensure the venture is financially viable.

Schutz said the National Trust has offered little in the way of guidance and stepped on efforts to refurbish the site and finance it properly. “I have never been asked by the Trust, ‘How can we help you get things done?’” Schutz said recently in an interview at Oatlands. “Their whole orientation is defensive. It’s, ‘We don’t have to give you anything.’”

In its 125-page lawsuit, which seeks about $3.7 million in damages, Oatlands Inc. says the National Trust has breached its contract and “has strangled the resources available to Oatlands.” It also accused the National Trust of vetoing repair proposals, undermining fundraising efforts and blocking Oatlands from entering a conservation easement that would provide a tax benefit. As a result, Oatlands Inc. said it has had to “deplete its reserves in order to attempt to provide necessary maintenance to the property, which has pushed Oatlands to the brink of insolvency.”

The annual operating budget for Oatlands is just over $1 million, Schutz said. It receives about $346,000 per year from the National Trust endowment. The rest is supposed to be paid for through a combination of visitor fees, fundraising and events.

To read the full article, click here:

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Fox5: Oatlands sues National Trust for Historic Preservation over land dispute

Oatlands Farm, a beloved historic site in Loudoun County finds itself in federal court over a land dispute.

Oatlands Historic House and Gardens was a plantation in Leesburg, which housed people who were enslaved and slaveholders. Now, it hosts weddings, high teas, and history buffs. The space typically draws over 24,000 people year-round. 

The former owners donated money to the National Trust for Historic Preservation — all specifically designated to keep Oatlands in “pristine condition.”

Now, the nonprofit managing Oatlands says the National Trust is denying them access to that money. Oatland Inc. filed a lawsuit against the Trust in state court for $3.5 million. CEO Caleb Schutz says if the court decides against Oatlands — it could hurt every philanthropic organization in the country.

“If a donor gives $5 million to a hospital system and says, ‘I want this hospital to have a cancer ward,’ and the hospital system says ‘Super, we need that, we’re taking the money,’ and then when the hospital goes to get the money for the ward the hospital system says ‘no, we’re going to use it to build a resort for doctors,'” Schutz explained. 

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May 2023 Newsletter

Get in the know! Read the newest version of Oatlands’ newsletter to find out about all the new opportunities coming up at Oatlands!

April 2023 Newsletter

Get in the know! Read the newest version of Oatlands’ newsletter to find out about all the new opportunities coming up at Oatlands! https://conta.cc/4024EzB

Oatlands Invests in Restoration and Preservation

Mansion
The Oatlands Mansion

With more than 200 years of history in 20 structures on 400 acres of grounds, keeping Oatlands Historic House & Gardens in pristine condition is a monumental undertaking.

This challenge has become even bigger in recent years as the COVID-19 pandemic affected tourism revenue and support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation has waned.

To overcome these challenges, Oatlands Inc. has over the last four years invested approximately $750,000 from its reserve funds to restore and improve elements of the property that had fallen into disrepair. Those projects include:

A view of the Oatlands gardens

Preserving the Carter Barn

  • Preserving the north porch of the Oatlands Mansion
  • Repairing the Hamlet
  • Refurbishing the Carriage House
  • Upgrading the grounds and garden to keep them in beautiful condition
  • Correcting electrical and plumbing issues throughout the property
  • Completely replacing the water infrastructure
  • Repairing the new sprinkler system
  • Replacing the cistern that stores and supplies water to the gardens

Oatlands Inc. has also invested in several initiatives to generate new revenue that supports operations and preservation. These initiatives include establishing three Airbnb rentals on the property and purchasing a high-quality, climate-controlled tent that makes it possible to hold events throughout nine months of the year.

The Carriage House at Oatlands

These efforts have gone a long way toward restoring Oatlands to pristine condition, but there is always work to be done and the reserves Oatlands Inc. has relied upon to fund these efforts are running out. To learn more about how you can support our efforts to keep Oatlands pristine, visit our Membership & Support page.

New Year Cake

Enjoy this recipe for New Year Cake found in the Carter family cook book. Unlike recipes we are familiar with today, every single step of making a cake is not written down. It may have been assumed that the cook knew the basic steps for making a cake or the basic directions for cake-baking appear on another page.

This page of the cook book contains many variations of cakes that each list the ingredients and amounts needed as well as any special techniques such as dissolving the sugar in warm water as specified in this recipe. All of the variations are all similarly short.

Carter New Year Cake Recipe

September 2022 Newsletter

Get in the know! Read the newest version of Oatlands’ newsletter to find out about all the new opportunities coming up at Oatlands! https://conta.cc/3x04PzN

August 2022 Newsletter

Get in the know! Read the newest version of Oatlands’ newsletter to find out about all the new opportunities coming up at Oatlands! https://conta.cc/3dsy86Z

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Garden & Grounds open 10:00 am – 5:00 pm daily. Purchase tickets here.

Guided Tours by appointment.

20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane
Leesburg, VA 20175
Tel: 703-727-0670

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