Oatlands-National Trust Site

06/05/2026

Where’s the turtle timekeeper? Have you seen the fish standing on its head? Try our scavenger hunt! Want more to do? Borrow one of our children’s backpacks with surprise activities inside. Come to “Explore Oatlands” day on June 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for family-friendly activities, face painting, orienteering trails, mansion walk-throughs, and information booths about gardening, bluebird monitoring, Black history and more. Free entry, no tickets needed! Check it out: https://oatlands.org/event/explore-oatlands-and-meet-our-community-partners/

06/03/2026

The Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library formed in 2000 to collect, preserve and share the history of African Americans who helped shape Loudoun County.

The committee documents the stories of Black communities, churches, schools, mutual aid societies, and traditions of excellence, while safeguarding significant historic sites and highlighting African American contributions to the county's past and present.

Come to “Explore Oatlands” day on June 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to learn about the committee's ongoing projects, including “Honoring Black Patriots and Loyalists,” a program that explores the experiences of Black Americans in their dual struggles for liberty and equality during the Revolutionary era. You’ll also get to meet Leesburg artist Gertrude Evans and see her vibrant paintings. The event is free, and no tickets are required! Learn more: https://oatlands.org/event/explore-oatlands-and-meet-our-community-partners/

06/02/2026

Congratulations, Brookfield Dairy Farm Inc.! Taste their ice cream – for free! – at our "Explore Oatlands" day on June 6. More here: https://oatlands.org/event/explore-oatlands-and-meet-our-community-partners/

The results from the Farm Tour Experience Survey are in, and while each farm stop got at least one vote, our People's Choice farms for spring 2026 are:

1. Brookfield Dairy Farm Inc.
2. Georges Mill Farm Artisan Cheese
3. Three Bags Wool Farm
T4. Blooming Hill Lavender Farm
T4. Green Hills Tea
T4. Long Stone Farm

Congratulations to the People's Choice farms and thank you again to ALL of our farms for opening your gates to the community!

06/01/2026

Got a question about your garden? Ask a master gardener – in person! – at our “Explore Oatlands” day on June 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. VCE Loudoun Master Gardeners are trained volunteer educators who provide research-based horticultural information to the community. You’ll also find invasive plant tutorials, hands-on activities, face painting, food and fun! No tickets are required and entry is free. Learn more: https://oatlands.org/event/explore-oatlands-and-meet-our-community-partners/

05/29/2026

StageCoach Theatre Company is a staple of the Loudoun County arts scene, offering after-school classes, summer camps, improv workshops and performances across the region. Did you know that Oatlands is one of the venues for its murder mystery dinner theatre? Nothing like a tasty whodunnit! On June 6, at our “Explore Oatlands” day – which showcases our community partners – some of the StageCoach youth performers will treat us to a musical cabaret at 12-1 p.m. Come, enjoy the show! The day is free, and no tickets are required. Learn more: https://oatlands.org/event/explore-oatlands-and-meet-our-community-partners/

05/27/2026

Mental illness has always been a part of the human experience. What was it like for those who experienced these illnesses, conditions and disorders in historic Loudoun? Join our public historian at the next Twilight Tour of Oatlands on May 31 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. to learn more about its people’s stories, how historians interpret the historical record, and the ways that science has changed in the last 200 years. Register here (only a few tickets left!):

Mystery in Madness. Explore Overlooked Spaces. Uncover Hidden Histories. Experience Oatlands After Hours. $20 per Adult. 7:30-8:30 PM.

05/26/2026

05/25/2026

Men and women with ties to Oatlands served in World War I and World War II in many different ways. Some held leadership roles overseas, working alongside Allied commanders in Europe. Others volunteered or were drafted into military and support units, facing danger both on the battlefield and behind the lines.

Lt. Morton Eustis, son of former Oatlands owners William Corcoran Eustis and Edith Livingston Morton, was killed in action in France during WWII. He is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France.

Pvt. Valentine B. Johnson, son of George W. and Nancy “Nannie” Johnson, served in the 165th Depot Brigade during WWI. He died in April 1918 of tuberculosis before completing his training.

His cousin, Cpl. Sandy V. Johnson, son of Sandy and Carrie Mason Johnson, served in the 22nd Quartermaster Truck Regiment in WWII. He died on his birthday, October 23, 1944, and is buried in the Gleedsville Cemetery.

On this Memorial Day, we remember all of the U.S. military men and women who served and died in the U.S. Armed Forces. Thank you for your service.

05/22/2026

Have you seen the wooden boxes on posts around Oatlands and wondered what they are? They’re Bluebird nestboxes helping to boost the Eastern Bluebird population. Oatlands has 13 of these boxes, most along a trail that you can walk.

Becky, with the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy's Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring program, comes to Oatlands weekly with her team to check the boxes, so to speak!

She notes another current highlight on the grounds: If you walk in the fields beside the parking lot, and look behind Bluebird box No. 1, you’ll see an “amazing spring phlox display” of light blue, lavender, white and pink blooms. Woodland phlox, a native perennial, she explains, is a fragrant, shade-loving and pollinator-friendly plant that grows 8 to 20 inches tall and thrives in rich, moist woods with dappled sunlight.

Meet Becky at our June 6 “Explore Oatlands” event – a free day of hands-on activities, information tables, food, face painting and ice cream. Learn more here: https://oatlands.org/event/explore-oatlands-and-meet-our-community-partners/

And read about the Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring program here: https://loudounwildlife.org/citizen-science/bluebird-trailsnestbox-monitoring/

05/20/2026

Rusty, our cast-iron retriever statue, is a popular feature in Oatlands’ historic gardens. The dog statue was once owned by William Wilson Corcoran, who founded the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and sat atop one of the garden walls at his mansion in D.C. His grandson William Corcoran Eustis brought the statue to Oatlands in the early 1900s.

Time and weather wore away Rusty’s coat, but through a grant from the Loudoun Preservation Society, he was restored with fresh paint and his rust spots treated. He now continues to guard the gardens and pose for pictures with visitors.

You can also see Rusty featured in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s new coloring book: https://savingplaces.org/stories/coloring-book-historic-gardens