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Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library© 2015 By Thomas Balch Library. All rights reserved.
Processed by: Laura E. Christiansen
Collection open for research.
No physical characteristics affect use of this material.
Oak Hill Engraving, 1858 (OM 028), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.
Constructed between 1820 and 1823, Oak Hill was owned President James Monroe (1758-1831). Located near Aldie, Virginia, Oak Hill served as one of Monroe's residences between 1823 and 1831. During this time, Monroe hosted numerous guests at Oak Hill, including fellow Presidents John Adams (1735-1826), James Madison (1751-1836), John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), and Thomas Jefferson (1744-1826) as well as celebrities such as the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834). Monroe moved to New York in 1831 following the death of his wife, Elizabeth Monroe (1768-1830). After Monroe's death in 1831, ownership of the property passed to his daughters, Eliza Monroe Hay (1786-1840) and Maria Monroe Gouverneur (1802-1850). After Maria Monroe Gouverneur's death in 1850, her widower, Samuel Gouverneur (1799-1867) sold the property to John W. Fairfax (1828-1908). Fairfax owned Oak Hill in 1858, when the house was featured in Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion as the "Seat of the late President James Munroe." A pictorial magazine, Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion was founded by Frederick Gleason (1817-1896) in 1851 under the title of Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion. Published in Boston, Massachusetts the magazine grew quickly in circulation. In 1855, editor Maturin Murray Ballou (1820 -1895) purchased the magazine from Gleason and changed the title. The magazine, described as a "copiously illustrated family miscellany," remained popular until Ballou sold it in 1886. Along with engravings created by Ballou, the magazine featured the work of numerous artists, including notable American artist, Winslow Homer (1836-1910).
Collection consists of one, double sided page removed from the 1 January 1859 edition of Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, volume 16, issue number 1, page 8 -9. The bottom half of page 8 features an engraved image of Oak Hill with the caption "Oak Hill, near Leesburg, Virginia, The Seat of President Munroe." A brief article by the artist, M.M. Ballou, Esq. accompanies the image noting that the sketch shows the south view of the house, with the garden, and was created from a photograph taken by Mr. Charles W. Morgan of Leesburg, Virginia. The original image was not in color, the copy of the image held has been hand-tinted.