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Land – Scholarship – History
Situated on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Manahoac and Piscataway, Oatlands is located in Leesburg, Virginia. Constructed in 1810 as a plantation and site of enslavement, Oatlands initially encompassed 3,408 acres and produced wheat in addition to running grist and saw mills. Over 154 years of private ownership, the property was reduced in size and its mansion repurposed as a boarding house, a summer home and girls school.
Today, Oatlands consists of natural spaces, cultivated acreage, gardens and 28 buildings, spanning the 19th and 20th centuries. Oatlands is centered in its Natural Lands—its larger landscape open for the benefit all, encouraging awareness of our shared world. It is grounded in History—valuing and lifting the voices of all who have shaped and been shaped by this historic site. And it is dedicated to Scholarship, for it is only in the active pursuit of knowledge can we sustainably forward the significance and relevance of this important historic site.
Telling All of Our Stories
Telling All of Our Stories is a long-term plan to research and interpret the broader story at Oatlands, going beyond the Carter and Eustis families who owned the property. Given the location between the Catoctin Mountain range and the waters of Goose Creek, the land would have been appealing to American Indians for hunting and fishing. Artifacts found in the Oatlands area are evidence of this. Later during the Carter time period, enslaved men, women, and children lived and labored at Oatlands. Their history is being documented and shared in the Reclaim Your Story project.
Reclaim Your Story Exhibit
See the exhibit in the former Smokehouse near the entrance to the garden on your visit to Oatlands.
