Oak Hill
The Fitzhugh Family and 17th & 18th Century Fairfax County:
In 1670 William Fitzhugh (a.k.a. "William the Immigrant") settled in Westmoreland County Virginia. He became a governor of the College of William and Mary and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. He also established one of the largest land grants in the "new world." He owned 21,996 acres that stretched from present day Stafford County to Arlington County, The Fairfax County portion of this land was described in 1694 as "upon the runs of Accotinke, Mussel Creek run and on the south side of the run Four Mile Creek."
In the 1680s and 1690s the Fairfax County land, known at the time as Ravensworth, was marketed to French Huguenots who were suffering under religious persecution. In 1686 William Fitzhugh wrote the following to entice the Huguenots to buy or lease this land:
"The land I offer to sell or lease is scituate in this county, lyes within a mile and a half of Potomac River, and of two bold navigable creeks, is principal good land and is proper for Frenchmen, because more naturally inclined to vines, than yours or any about our neighborhood; and will engage to naturalize every soul of then at 3 per head without anymore or other matter of charge or trouble to them, whereby the heirs will be capacitated to inherit the fathers purchase."
In 1730 tobacco warehouses were established at Little Hunting Creek and Occoquan. These helped to make Ravensworth a very prosperous tobacco plantation. By 1782 Ravensworth was the fourth largest plantation in Fairfax County, and had 203 slaves. In 1783 the Ravensworth tract was divided between the five grandsons of William Fitzhugh. Richard Fitzhugh, one of the five grandsons, built Oak Hill in 1790. In the same year, Ossian Hall and another house named Dover were all constructed by the grandsons of William Fitzhugh. Today Oak Hill is the only remaining home built by the Fitzhugh family left in Fairfax County.
Built in 1790 by Richard Fitzhugh, Oak Hill was built in the rigid symmetry of the late Georgian style which was inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture. In 1830 an extension was added to the west side of the original house. In the 1930s renowned restoration architect Walter M. Macomber restored and remodeled the house in a Colonial Revival style. Other than the sun room added to the west side of the house in the 1970s, most of Oak Hill stand today as it did after the 1930s restoration. One feature of significance is the Colonial Revival wood paneling in the dinning room which is a replica Federal-period mantel that is detailed with a molded shelf, decorative carved medallions, marble facing and a marble hearth.
The grounds of Oak Hill are also remarkable. From Braeburn Street up to the front doors of Oak Hill is the original lined drive to the house. This drive is lined on both sides by boxwoods that date back to the 1790 construction of Oak Hill. It is unusual to find so much of the original landscaping including oak trees and boxwoods still intact over 200 years later.
Local Folk Lore:
There is a story that during the Civil War a Confederate Solder was
hiding from Union troops in a closet in Oak Hill. The Union troops shot
the hiding solder and wounded him. To this day, there are stories of the
ghost of the wounded Confederate solder being seen in and around Oak
Hill. Like most folk lore, none of this story can be historically
confirmed or denied.
As the only last 18th Century Fitzhugh property left in Fairfax County. The purchase of a historic easement on Oak Hill offers a unique opportunity to preserve an important piece of the history of our area for generations to come.
Many thanks to Paul Gilbert for this history of Oak Hill.