Oak Hill Day will be in-person

For the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic, historic Oak Hill will host an in-person open house.
The 2022 Oak Hill Day will be held Sept. 17, noon-4 p.m., at the historic property in Annandale.

Visitors can park at the Nancy Sprague Technology Center, 4414 Holborn Ave., Annandale, and take a free shuttle bus to Oak Hill. There will also be limited, accessible parking at 4716 Wakefield Chapel Road.

In 2020 and 2021, Oak Hill Day was held virtually.

This year, visitors will have an opportunity to explore the first floor of the Georgian-style house and gardens, which feature 200-year-old boxwoods.

Richard Fitzhugh, a descendant of one of the first land-grant holders in Northern Virginia, built Oak Hill in 1790. It was one of the three mansions built on the Ravensworth Tract, and the only one still standing.

Related story: New residents of Oak Hill enjoy ‘owning a piece of history’

Restoration architect Walter Macomber renovated the house in the 1940s in the Colonial Revival style.

In 2004, neighborhood activists, with help from local organizations, fought off an attempt by Seville Homes to replace Oak Hill with a housing development. In the same year, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Fairfax County Park Authority, Board of Supervisors, Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, and Seville Homes agreed to a historic and conservation easement to preserve Oak Hill.

As part of the agreement, the private family that owns Oak Hill must agree to open the property to the public once a year. Oak Hill Day gives the community a chance to learn about the people who built and lived there, including the enslaved people who worked at the property.