Youngkin Lays Out Requirements for Oak Hill State Park Establishment

After Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced earlier this week that he would include support for the efforts to establish the Loudoun home of President James Monroe as a state park in his budget amendments, project leaders were cautiously optimistic as they waited to see what guidelines he would lay out to be followed.

Those guidelines include a largely hands off approach by the state, especially when it comes to a financial commitment. The amendment authorizes establishing the 1,200-acre property as a state park if proposals by The Conservation Fund, the nonprofit spearheading the effort, can be met.

Most significantly, the Fund must submit a comprehensive funding plan that includes confirmation of $52 million to support the park’s acquisition, development and operation. Loudoun County supervisors last November authorized granting $22 million to the Fund while an additional $18 million is expected from federal and state non-General Fund grants and $12 million from philanthropic and private sector support.

Youngkin’s amendment also requires the selection of a community foundation committed to managing an endowment for the park, the launch of a Citizen Support Organization to operate as a nonprofit affiliate to support the park’s organization and under a fiscal sponsorship agreement with the community foundation, and the creation of a CSO advisory board to develop bylaws, begin organizational growth and fundraising.

The advisory board is expected to have representatives from the state departments of Conservation and Recreation and Historic Resources, Loudoun County, The Conservation Fund, local and regional conservation and preservation organizations, national presidential commemorative or educational organizations and the local philanthropic community.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation is required to report to the House and Senate finance committees on the status of meeting these requirements by Aug. 31 and provide a final report on them by Dec. 1.

If agreed to by the chairs of the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, the state is authorized to establish non-General Fund appropriations to support the acquisition, activation and operation of the park.

“It is the intent of this item that the acquisition and operation of Oak Hill State Park will be supported entirely by the non-general funds cited in this paragraph and revenues generated from Oak Hill State Park,” according to the budget amendment. “No general fund appropriation shall be provided to support capital improvements to, or the operations of, Oak Hill State Park. All future costs associated with Oak Hill State Park shall be funded using revenues generated from Oak Hill State Park or by funds provided by the established Citizen Support Organization.”

The General Assembly will take up the governor's proposed amendment on April 2 as part of a one-day reconvened session. It will need support from both the House and the Senate.

The Conservation Fund Project Lead Heather Richards said she's hopeful the House and Senate will support it. 

"[The amendment] is what I expected," she said. "I think it sets very reasonable benchmarks that we think are achievable."

Currently the Fund has raised $46 million, and Richards said she believes they will be able to raise the remaining $6 million by or before the Dec. 1 deadline. 

Youngkin’s budget revived hopes for the park’s establishment after a bill sponsored by Del. Alfonzo H. Lopez (D-3), of Arlington, was stopped within the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee with Chair L. Louise Lucas (D-18), of Portsmouth, and others raising concerns the project would be jumping ahead of other proposals to establish new state parks. 

Youngkin said he had concerns about the financial sustainability of the park until Del. Geary Higgins (R-30) invited him to Oak Hill to speak with owners Tom and Gayle DeLashmutt and The Conservation Fund Project Lead Heather Richards.

“We talked through all of the numbers and all of the issues and, quite frankly, the governor amazed me at his knowledge of this project, his knowledge of all the details of it,” Higgins said.  

The property was purchased by Monroe in 1794, and following the burning of Washington, DC, in 1814, he turned his focus to building a peaceful retreat. 

Higgins said Monroe is often overlooked because during his tenure as president, the era of “good feelings” was prevalent, marking no major conflicts for the country following the War of 1812. However, Monroe served for decades in many different elected positions. 

“He held more state and federal offices than any other president before,” Gayle said. “He was Minister to France. He was Minister of War. He was president, I could go on and on.”

One of his most well-known accomplishments is the Monroe Doctrine, delivered to Congress in 1823, which declared European non-interference in the Western Hemisphere and remains a cornerstone of American foreign policy today. That work was penned at Oak Hill and signed “from my Loudoun County seat.”

After two terms as president, Monroe retired to the property, where he farmed, wrote his biography and hosted guests. 

The property passed out of the Monroe family’s hands in the late 19^thcentury. Frank Littleton eventually purchased it and expanded both wings of the house and put porches on both ends. However, the property and all the belongings in the home, were put up for a tax auction, when it was purchased by the DeLashmutts in 1948. 

Included among the curiosities inside the home are some original Monroe-owned furnishings, including two Italian marble mantles, gifted by the Marquis de Lafayette, dinosaur fossils found in the quarry on the property, and wooden floors taken from the White House after it burned down in 1814.

In addition to extensive gardens and open spaces, the property houses 10 additional structures including an old smokehouse and a tower once used to provide running water to the home.