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Estate

The Carter Barn

THE CARTER BARN, built in 1821, is a barn notched into the man-made hillside. The brick structure and attached stone icehouse are all that remain of a much larger farming complex. Originally, this area was the agricultural hub of the plantation where enslaved people threshed grain, sheared sheep, and crafted tools in a blacksmith shop. With several interior bins, the Carter Barn mainly served as grain storage for various crops. The structure utilized an intricate design to create good ventilation which prevented mold and dispersed accumulated heat. Archaeological evidence uncovered a foundation adjacent to the Carter Barn, indicating that another bay once extended farther to the south. Newspaper articles note that a large barn at Oatlands burned down in 1889, likely this missing bay.

Currently, a wooden dairy barn partially sits on the missing bay’s foundation. During the early to mid-1900s, a large influx of people to the Washington, D.C. area caused a boom in Loudoun County’s dairy industry. The Eustis family built their own state-of-the-art facility to hygienically gather and process milk from Oatlands’ cows. Today, the barn is a time capsule, displaying evidence of both Carter and Eustis-era agricultural practices.

Carter Barn Icehouse 1973
Carter Barn Icehouse 1973

The Carter Barn and Icehouse, 1973

The Carter Barn was once part of a large, walled agricultural complex that processed wheat, corn, oats, and other crops. The increase in agricultural production at Oatlands was directly tied to the growth and expansion of the enslaved population who lived and labored here. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.


Carter Barn Dairy Barn 1937
Carter Barn Dairy Barn 1937

The Carter Barn and Dairy Barn, 1937

This image captures both Carter and Eustis-era influences on the building. The brick section retains a fieldstone bank wall, unique roof framing system, and arched openings, illustrating George Carter’s willingness to experiment with architecture. The Eustis family added the wooden
two-story dairy barn for milking cows.


Entrance Barn Complex 1976
Entrance Barn Complex 1976

The Entrance to Oatlands’ Barn Complex, 1976

This farm road, flanked by stone walls, is the original access point to the barn complex. Although the noise and hustle of an active farm operation has faded into memory, the road and Carter Barn remain as lasting testaments to an enslaved people who built the structures at Oatlands and cultivated the land.


Carter Barn Archaeological Investigations 2013
Carter Barn Archaeological Investigations 2013

The Carter Barn Complex: Phase I and II Archaeological Investigations, 2013

George Carter’s granddaughter told her daughter about an enormous barn “so large that you could turn six horses around in it.” She likely referred to the Carter Barn and its missing bay, believed to have burned in 1889. This artist rendering depicts the minimum footprint of the missing bay. Image courtesy of Rivanna Archaeological Services.


The Greenhouse

THE GREENHOUSE, built in 1810, illustrated George Carter’s interest in contemporary horticultural practices and reflected his wealth. It is believed to be the second-oldest propagation greenhouse in the country. The south-facing glass wall and glazed roof maximizes sun exposure for plants in the hothouse. The attached potting shed helps shield the hothouse from northerly winds while also providing storage for equipment and heating devices. Enslaved people used the space to cultivate a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Oral history suggests that one or two enslaved people may have slept inside the greenhouse during winter months when they had to stoke the heating system day and night in order to maintain a constant warm temperature.

By the late 1800s, the second generation of Carters used the hothouse to display more exotic plants such as sago palms. They also turned the attached shed into an official dwelling. In the early 1900s, the Eustis family improved the structure with a state-of-the-art Lord and Burnham iron framework and heating system. They propagated boxwoods and grew snapdragons, roses, tomatoes, and rhubarb. Today, Oatlands’ garden staff follows the tradition of using the historic greenhouse to shelter delicate plantings during colder months.

Greenhouse 1890
Greenhouse 1890

The Greenhouse, c. 1890

The only known photograph of the greenhouse in the 1800s shows two unidentified women inside the hothouse. Note the lower floor level and trees planted inside. Using data from archaeological investigations, these details help date the photograph between 1870 and 1895.


John Leland Talbot undated
John Leland Talbot undated

John Leland Talbot, undated

John Leland Talbot emigrated from England in 1900. He worked as head gardener at Oatlands for several years and lived in the house now operating as the Inn at Oatlands Hamlet.


Plate 103 Design Greenhouse
Plate 103 Design Greenhouse

Plate 103, Design for Greenhouse

As with the mansion, it is possible that George Carter designed much of the greenhouse himself with the use of pattern books and advice from builders. Oatlands’ greenhouse emulates designs seen in William Pain’s The Practical House Carpenter, 1796 (shown here) and other design books of construction patterns and plans.


Greenhouse 1937
Greenhouse 1937

The Greenhouse, 1937

Located in direct view of the mansion and its original front entrance, George Carter meant to impress any visitor to Oatlands with a view of his greenhouse. The Eustis family continued to utilize the greenhouse as a key component of their horticultural program. Early on, they planted Japanese maple trees on either side of the hothouse door, which remain today.


The Carriage House

The trio of green buildings around the circular drive were constructed in the early 1900s by the Eustis family, the last private owners of Oatlands. William Corcoran Eustis enjoyed the close proximity to Virginia hunt country while Edith Eustis saw the dilapidated gardens as a perfect restoration project. They often entertained friends from the D.C. area, including President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The Carriage House was built between 1903 and 1906 by the Norris Brothers of Leesburg. Outside, the frame building with fieldstone foundation represented typical rural Virginia architecture. Inside, it housed a state-of-the-art healthy environment for “thoroughbreds and Irish hunters.” High windows supplied light and ventilation without subjecting horses to harsh drafts. Second floor staff rooms were strategically located to minimize disruptive noise. Raised wooden floors, scored concrete hallways, and an interior drainage system allowed easy cleaning of both horses and carriages. Today, the Carriage House is the Oatlands Visitor Center and Museum Store.


Edith Morton Eustis, c. 1895

Edith Livingston Morton Eustis was the daughter of Levi Parsons Morton, Minister to France and Vice President to the 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison. She was lifelong friends with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who visited the family at Oatlands.


Young Edith Morton
Young Edith Morton
William Corcoran Eustis 1898
William Corcoran Eustis 1898

William Corcoran Eustis, c. 1898

While at Oatlands, Eustis became a founding member of the Loudoun Hunt and served on its board of governors. A 1906 newspaper article claimed, “Mr. Eustis is well known as a most enthusiastic hunter, and it is his intention to have a splendid stable of high class hunters at ‘Oatlands.'”



Margaret and Morton Eustis, c. 1915

Family photograph albums show the Eustis children’s love of outdoor activities at Oatlands during all seasons. Here, Margaret and Morton display their ease with equestrian pursuits.


Margaret Morton Eustis 1915
Margaret Morton Eustis 1915
Carriage House 1937
Carriage House 1937

Carriage House 1937

Once motorized vehicles became popular, the Carriage House was partially converted into a car garage. However, much of the original materials and layout remained the same. Note the concrete horse ramp and large barn door.



Chauffeur’s House, 1951

This two-story framed building was home to Harry Doe and his family. Initially a driver of horse-drawn carriages for the Eustis family, Doe was sent to Detroit around 1918 to learn how to drive the Eustis’ first automobile. Today, this structure is used as offices for Oatlands’ staff.


Chauffeurs House 1951
Chauffeurs House 1951
pump house 1951
pump house 1951

Pump House, 1951

This unassuming structure was built over an underground well to provide water for all of the buildings in Oatlands’ historic core.


The Mansion

In 1804, George Carter focused his substantial resources on wheat production and construction of a MANSION at Oatlands. A scholar and astute businessman, Carter likely designed the house himself, possibly with the help of builders and pattern books. Enslaved people dug up clay from local riverbanks to mold and fire bricks for a three-story structure with a basement and cupola. Both enslaved people and paid laborers worked on the house until the mid-1830s, adding side stairwells, removing the cupola, applying stucco to exterior brick, and building an impressive two–story columned portico. The finished house showcased elements of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival architectural styles.

After purchasing Oatlands in 1903, Edith and William Corcoran Eustis made only a few changes to the mansion. They added a porch to the north facade, moved the second floor staircase, and combined two small bedrooms into one large room. In family correspondence, they often referred to the mansion as “Oatlands House.” Because of their preservation efforts, the mansion still remains true to George Carter’s vision for his home.

George Carter crop
George Carter

George Carter, 1844

George Carter’s inheritance in 1798 was unusual for the time period and his social class. Although he inherited 3,400 acres from his father, Robert Carter III, George did not inherit enslaved people because of his father’s change in belief about the institution of slavery. In 1791, Robert Carter III filed the Deed of Gift which gradually emancipated over 500 enslaved people at his plantations throughout Virginia. Sadly, he lived to see his son hold people in bondage. By 1801, George Carter was calling his land “Oatlands”, basing the plantation and milling operations completely on the use of enslaved people.


Elizabeth O. Carter Portrait
Elizabeth O. Carter

Elizabeth Osborne Carter, c. 1847

A wealthy widow, 39 year-old Elizabeth Osborne Lewis married 58 year-old George Carter in 1835. They had two sons, George Jr. and Benjamin. After her husband’s death, Elizabeth O. Carter remained at Oatlands until part way through the Civil War. Her diary is a great resource, listing individual names of enslaved people at Oatlands, many of whom would otherwise be unknown.


Oatlands 1890
Oatlands 1890

Oatlands, c. 1890

This sweeping landscape captures Oatlands at the turn of the century; in disrepair and uncertain of its place in the new era. The Eustis family saw potential in the old house and grounds. By 1903, they began improvements to make it their country estate.


summer boarders Oatlands 1890
Summer Boarders Oatlands 1890

Summer boarders at Oatlands, c. 1890

The Carter family’s fortunes declined following the Civil War. Beset with debt, George Carter Jr. and his wife, Katherine Powell Carter, operated Oatlands first as a girls’ school and later as a summer boarding house. Eventually, they sold the house and grounds in 1897 to Stilson Hutchins, one of the founders of The Washington Post newspaper.


Margaret Eustis Oatlands 1918
Margaret Eustis Oatlands 1918

Margaret Eustis at Oatlands, c. 1918

In family albums, Margaret is often photographed outdoors, including this scene of her and a playful peacock on the mansion portico. Margaret later married David Finley, first Director of the National Gallery of Art and one of the founders of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Margaret and her sister, Anne Eustis Emmet, donated Oatlands to the National Trust in 1965.


Mt. Gap School

MT. GAP SCHOOL, built circa 1882, exemplifies the iconic one-room rural schoolhouse. White students came from nearby small communities or farms, ranging in age from 5 to 15. Each morning, they traveled to the schoolhouse by horse, cart, or on foot. Due to limited space, children often shared books and desks. Teachers instructed lessons in math, history, geography, reading, penmanship, and science. Because of segregation, African American students could not attend Mt. Gap School. Instead, they were required to attend another one-room schoolhouse, called Mt. Gap Colored School. This schoolhouse was built in the late 1880s on nearby Mt. Gap Road to serve Gleedsville and the surrounding community.

As one-room schoolhouses became obsolete, Mt. Gap School closed its doors in 1953. The National Trust for Historic Preservation bought the building and surrounding acreage in 1973. Today, Oatlands uses the schoolhouse for educational programs throughout the year.

Mt Gap School 1900s
Mt Gap School 1900s

Mt. Gap School, early 1900s

This photograph is believed to be Miss Warren and her class. All students contributed to the school’s operation by completing chores. The boys brought in wood, hauled pails of water, and stoked the iron stove during winter months. Girls cleaned the lamps and chalk boards.


Mt_Gap_Colored_School_1940
Mt_Gap_Colored_School_1940

Mt. Gap Colored School, 1940

Children in Loudoun’s segregated schools had fewer resources than the schools for white children. Despite the unequal treatment, students fondly remembered their dedicated teachers, such as Bushrod W. Murray, Elizabeth Johnson, and Janie Stewart Redwood. The school closed in 1955. Image courtesy of Loudoun County Public Schools Student Records Department.


Mt_Gap_School_1940
Mt_Gap_School_1940

Mt. Gap School, 1940

The most striking difference between the schoolhouse in 1940 and today, is the exterior color. As with many other schoolhouses in Virginia, Mt. Gap School was painted white from c.1900 to the 1950s. After it was closed as a school, the building was painted red. Image courtesy of Loudoun County Public Schools Student Records Department.


Mt_Gap_School_1953
Mt Gap School 1953

Mt. Gap School, 1953

In a 1953 article by the Loudoun Times Mirror, prominent lawyer and Mt. Gap School graduate, Wilbur C. Hall, discussed his purchase of the building at auction and his plans to restore it for historic interpretation. He installed a traditional pot-belly stove, wooden desks, and stocked the shelves with typical school books.


The Bachelor’s Cottage

THE BACHELOR’S COTTAGE, circa 1821, was originally constructed as a dairy. It matched the smokehouse on the other side of the mansion to balance the plantation’s layout. Originally, the structure had a dirt floor several feet below ground level, thick plastered walls, and high vented openings to help maintain a constant cool temperature of around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Enslaved people used this space to store perishable foods, such as milk and butter, for the Carter family’s consumption.

After the Civil War, the Carters turned the building into a residence for paying boarders. During renovations in the 1880s, they added a first floor at ground level, a second floor, a chimney, two windows, and a two-story porch. By the early 1900s, the Eustis family turned the structure into a guest cottage with additional windows, beadboard ceilings, indoor plumbing, and screened porches. According to oral histories, the family referred to the building as the “Bachelor’s Cottage” because Morton Eustis and his friends from Harvard University stayed here when they visited Oatlands during school breaks.

After Oatlands was donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1965, the building served as staff offices, event preparation space, and housing for an artist-in-residence program.

Bachelors Cottage 1890
Bachelors Cottage 1890

Bachelor’s Cottage, c. 1890

This photograph of Oatlands’ front lawn shows the Bachelor’s Cottage with a rustic exterior staircase and second story porch, dating it to the ownership of George Jr. and his wife, Katherine Powell Carter.


Eustis children 1909
Eustis children 1909

Eustis children, 1909

A casual moment captured between Helen, Margaret, and Morton Eustis as they play on the lawn between the mansion and Bachelor’s Cottage.


Bachelors Cottage 1937
Bachelors Cottage 1937

Bachelor’s Cottage, 1937

The second floor’s original wooden siding, seen here, has since been replaced with slightly wider boards. Edith Eustis chose “bronze green” to paint both the Bachelor’s Cottage and the trim on the Chauffeur’s House. She liked the color so much, when it was discontinued, she asked the paint company to mix an entire barrel just for her.


Bachelors Cottage 1951
Bachelors Cottage 1951

Bachelor’s Cottage, 1951

The Eustis family added screened-in porches and an enclosed area on the second floor porch, now removed. Raymond Jewell, carpenter at Oatlands in the 1950s, recalled installing copper screen. Afterwards, he muted the bright color with lamp black and kerosene because Edith Eustis didn’t like “the look of the sun on the copper wire.”


The Garden Dependency

THE GARDEN DEPENDENCY’S exact date of construction is unknown, although several characteristics point to the early 1820s. The dependency shares the same type of mortar, brick, and unique roof framing system as the smokehouse. Physical evidence and historical precedence suggest the building likely housed enslaved people and provided storage and work space. It could have been used as a laundry, food preparation and cooking area, and a place for other activities associated with the mansion and garden. By 1890, a visitor to Oatlands noted the “rows of offices and storehouses” were now “a silent ruined town.”

More than a decade later, Edith Eustis extensively renovated several of the garden buildings and removed dilapidated structures during her revitalization of the walled garden. She incorporated a laundry into the dependency with large soapstone sinks and decorative cast iron brackets. Today, Oatlands’ garden staff continues to use the dependency as work and storage space.

Garden Dependency 1904
Garden Dependency 1904

The Garden Dependency, c. 1904

When the Eustis family first purchased Oatlands, they began documenting improvements to their new property. Family photographs help show the transition from disrepair to comfortable country estate. In one album, this photograph was captioned, “Some planting begun by us.”


Margaret and Morton Eustis, c. 1910.
Margaret and Morton Eustis, c. 1910.

Margaret and Morton Eustis, c. 1910

While at Oatlands, the Eustis children spent much of their time outdoors, exploring the garden and traversing the same landscape that visitors see today.


Basil Turner
Basil Turner

Bazil Turner, c. 1930

After the Civil War, some of the formerly enslaved people stayed on as paid laborers. Once such employee, Bazil Turner, worked at Oatlands for both generations of Carters and the Eustis family. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photograph Division.


The Garden Dependency, 1951
The Garden Dependency, 1951

The Garden Dependency, 1951

In the early 1900s, several gardeners employed at Oatlands began signing their names on the plaster walls of the garden shed, located at the east end of the building. Research revealed that some of the gardeners are descended from families formerly enslaved on the property, illustrating a strong tie between Oatlands and its surrounding community. Today, the walls display dozens of signatures and whimsical sketches as a lasting legacy of the many hardworking people who helped cultivate Oatlands’ beautiful landscape.

See If These Walls Could Talk


Smokehouse

THE SMOKEHOUSE, circa 1821, is located on the same axis as the Dairy/Bachelor’s Cottage for symmetry of the plantation’s layout. The windowless, one-story brick building with dirt floor was used by the enslaved people as a place to preserve and store meat products. Typically, fresh meat was dry-salted, marinated in wooden boxes or troughs for up to six weeks, and smoked inside the building over a smoldering pit fire. It was then stored on shelves or hung on beams until needed.

In the early 1900s, Edith Eustis turned the building into a studio during renovations of the dilapidated garden. Changes included a new front door with sidelights and transom, construction of a floor and ceiling, and installation of four windows. She also added a chimney to the building and appropriated one of the mantelpieces from the mansion to use in her new space. Today, Oatlands’ garden staff uses the building as office space.

The Smokehouse 1930-40
The Smokehouse 1930 (l) and 1904 (r)

The Smokehouse, c. 1904 (right)

This image from the early 1900s documents initial improvements made to the garden by Edith Eustis. She kept several photographs in an album as mementos of her progress.

The Smokehouse, c. 1930 (left)

In the 1930s, photographer Frances Benjamin Johnson captured several beautiful shots of the garden in full bloom, along with decorative fence rows and intriguing boxwood configurations, all part of Edith Eustis’ restoration plan. Today, the smokehouse doorway looks the same except for the additions of an awning and a screen door. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photograph Division.


Morton and Edith “Babs” Eustis, c. 1912.
Morton and Edith “Babs” Eustis, c. 1912.

Morton and Edith “Babs” Eustis, c. 1912.

Morton and his new baby sister, “Babs,” are posed in front of the smokehouse’s western façade. It is a rare image of the building before Edith Eustis began her renovations, which included installation of two western-facing windows and two southern-facing windows.


The Smokehouse 1940
The Smokehouse 1940

The Smokehouse, 1940.

The smokehouse has not changed much since Edith Eustis turned it into a studio and children’s playhouse. It was a peaceful space in which to plan her extensive revitalization of the garden. Edith Eustis once wrote, “It is always quiet and sheltered under the lea of the walls, even when the most biting northwest wind is blowing.”


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