The Greenhouse At Oatlands Celebrates 200 Years

June 23, 2011 - PRLog -- LEESBURG, VA – Oatlands Executive Director Andrea McGimsey announced today that Oatlands will be celebrating the 200th birthday of its greenhouse on Sunday, June 26 from 2–4 p.m. The birthday party, complete with cake and balloons (while supplies last) is free and open to the public. Event sponsors will have exhibit space, and the Loudoun Master Gardeners will be on hand to diagnose plant problems and provide gardening advice.  Oatlands will offer half-price tours of the Mansion all day on the 26th.

The greenhouse at Oatlands is the second oldest extant greenhouse in the United States.  Built in 1810 by George Carter, the unique brick structure was state-of-the-art.  It featured a sophisticated heating system that combined the radiant heat from a central compost pile, fireplaces, and the southern exposure of a glass roof. The advanced heating system allowed Carter to grow vegetables and fruit, such as bananas and strawberries, out of season.

Oatlands, originally owned by George Carter, includes a federal style mansion, built in 1804, several 19th century brick dependencies, including the nation’s second oldest propagation greenhouse and a four acre, terraced English garden.  While under the ownership of George Carter, the property evolved into one of the region’s most successful wheat plantations. At the turn of the 20th century, Mr. and Mrs. William Corcoran Eustis of Washington D.C. purchased Oatlands as a country estate. In 1965, the ownership of Oatlands was transferred to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The transfer included the mansion at Oatlands and the many nineteenth century buildings on the property, such as the greenhouse, as well as hundreds of acres of conserved land.

For more information about the greenhouse at Oatlands and the celebration for its 200th Birthday, please visit www.oatlands.org.

Oatlands, a 360-acre, self-supporting National Trust Historic Site, is located six miles south of Leesburg on US Route 15.  Call (703) 777-3174 for additional information or visit the web at www.oatlands.org.