In 1903, affluent Washingtonians, William and Edith Eustis, purchased Oatlands as their country home.

William was an avid equestrian, and he found the location ideally suited for stabling his horses and fox hunting. Edith, enchanted by the neglected gardens, was determined to return them to their former splendor.

Edith Eustis >

William Corcoran Eustis was the grandson of wealthy businessman William Wilson Corcoran. Edith Livingston Morton was the daughter of Levi Parsons Morton, who was Minister to France (1881-1885) and Vice-President in the administration of President Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893). Edith was life-long friends with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who visited Oatlands periodically.

William Eustis >

The Eustises lived in Washington, D.C. and came to Oatlands frequently. They had 5 children, a boy and 4 girls: Morton, Ann, Margaret, Helen and Edith (Babs). A manager oversaw the farming operation, and gardeners tended to Mrs. Eustis’s garden. Several people who had been enslaved by the Carters worked on the farm or in the garden, as did their descendants. Bazil Turner, pictured here in an undated photo, had been enslaved at Oatlands, and he worked here on the farm and in the garden after the Eustises bought the property.

Basil Turner >

In 1917, as the U.S. entered World War 1, battle wasn’t the only risk Americans faced. Valentine B. Johnson, a young man from Gleedsville whose Buchanan relatives worked for both the Carters and Eustises, was inducted into the army in 1917. Only three months later, he was home, honorably discharged due to the tuberculosis that would cause his death at the age of 23. William Eustis also served during the war, initially as an aide and interpreter for General Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. He came home safely but died in 1921 of complications from a lung disease that he had contracted in France in 1918. Even outside of war, medical concerns remained – around the same time as her father’s passing, the oldest Eustis daughter, Helen, was diagnosed with a disorder that would see her in and out of hospitals for the rest of her life. And just over a decade later, the youngest Eustis daughter, Edith, died of tuberculosis at age 24.

Tragedy struck again when their son Morton was killed in World War II. He served under General Patton, fighting in Sicily, Italy and France, and was killed in action near Domfront, France in August 1944. Another young man from Gleedsville, Sandy Johnson, lost his life in service for his country.

Morton Eustis >

Margaret married David Finley, who was influential in helping Andrew Mellon establish the National Gallery of Art in D.C. Finley was its first Director. He also founded the National Trust for Historic Preservation and, with Jacqueline Kennedy, created the White House Historical Association.

David Finley >

When Mrs. Eustis passed away in 1964, her daughters, Margaret Eustis Finley and Anne Eustis Emmet, donated the Oatlands mansion, its furnishings, and 261 acres around it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Margaret Finley & Anne Emmet >