A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: Oak Hill’s bid for State Park Status

On March 24, Gov. Glenn Youngkin included the 1,240-acre Oak Hill State Park Plan, located in Aldie, in his budget amendments—sending them back to the General Assembly, following a private tour of Oak Hill with Delegate Geary Higgins. The language added in Youngkin’s amendments “Authorizes consideration of the acquisition of Oak Hill State Park.”

Said Youngkin, “In addition after careful consideration and I have to say an enormous amount of arm twisting and a site visit with Delegate Geary Higgins, our package of budget amendments includes language to authorize the consideration of establishing Oak Hill, the historic home of the Virginia governor and the fifth president of the Unites States James Monroe as a state park.”

Oak Hill was the home of James Monroe, Virginia governor and the fifth president of the United States. The DeLashmutt family has owned Oak Hill since 1948.

Monroe served in nearly every major office in this country—from house of Delegates to Congress to the Senate and the presidency. He was Secretary of War and the Secretary of State; “he was everywhere and doing everything,” said Higgins. 

“I have watched too many homes of historic importance go away and once they’re gone, they’re gone. There’s no getting them back,” he said. 

“This is an opportunity that in my view is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s an opportunity not just for the home but for1,240-acres right in the center of Loudoun County to be preserved in perpetuity,” said Higgins.

After receiving unanimous support in the House, the proposal failed in the Senate, as they refused to include the creation of a new state park in their budget. The General Assembly is scheduled to vote on Youngkin’s amendments on April 2.

Higgins and Youngkin met privately at Oak Hill on Monday, March 10 with the DeLashmutt family, Heather Richards the vice president for the Mid Atlantic region for the Conservation Fund which bridges the gap between private ownership and public ownership, and Acting Secretary Stefanie Taillon. 

During the meeting, they toured the property and discussed the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure an important piece of Virginia’s history. Recapping the meeting, Gov. Youngkin said, “Delegate Geary Higgins called me and invited me to go visit, and we had a quiet visit. For anybody who’s worked with me, I need a business plan, and I want to see that it works, and then I can support it. Delegate Higgins has been an incredibly strong advocate for including [Oak Hill] in the budget.”

Delegate Higgins, who successfully secured local and state funding for Loudoun’s Sweet Run State Park in the beginning of Youngkin’s term, issued the following statement:

“I have been working with the Governor for the better part of the past year on making this Park a reality, and I am extremely grateful for his willingness to listen and his decision to support the Park. Two weeks ago, I invited him out to see the property and the vision, and we had a great visit with the DeLashmutt family. We discussed the financials at length in the very room where the Monroe Doctrine was written. I was thoroughly impressed with the Governor’s preparedness and in-depth knowledge of the entire plan.

“I could never give up on Oak Hill. If we did nothing, then President Monroe’s home would have become just another Northern Virginia subdivision, lost forever. If passed in the budget, Oak Hill State Park will bring to life incredible historic events like the Monroe Doctrine, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Missouri Compromise to millions of people.

Higgins said the work begins now, because “we have got to advocate, and we need to get our friends out that are interested to advocate on behalf of this property and on behalf of the home that we include in this park.”

Higgins urged action saying, “We need to be in touch with our Senators and even some of the ones that maybe are not our Senators, all of them, and express to them the need and the opportunity for this.

Loudoun County has allocated $22 million and the Conservation Fund along with other groups have raised nearly $25 million. The DeLashmutt is selling their property for $20 million.

Higgins said, I want to thank the DeLashmutt’s for their vision and their generosity and offering this to the state. The fact that they’ve done that is unbelievable opportunity for us to preserve the home of our fifth president James Monroe.”