Oak Hill is a mansion and plantation located in Aldie, Virginia that was for 22 years a home of Founding Father James Monroe, the fifth U.S. President. It is located approximately south of Leesburg on U.S. Route 15, in an unincorporated area of Loudoun County, Virginia. Its entrance is north of Gilberts Corner, the intersection of 15 with U.S. Route 50. It is a National Historic Landmark, but privately owned and not open to the public. History The main mansion of the property was constructed in 1822 for Monroe, who subsequently split time between this estate and another home at Monroe Hill on the grounds of the University of Virginia after his term as president. Oak Hill was Monroe's only residence for three years, from 1827 to 1830, and it was one of his residences during 22 years. The mansion was built in 1820, during Monroe's presidency. Before that, Monroe's residence at the estate was the clapboard building known in recent years as the Monroe Cottage. The architecture is distinctive for "its unusual pentastyle portico". It is suggested that Thomas Jefferson, his close friend, may well have drawn plans for Oak Hill; the construction was supervised by James Hoban, designer and builder of the White House. Aside from the main house, other structures remaining from Monroe's time include the cottage, a smokehouse, springhouse, blacksmith's shop, a square barn, the stone Stallion Barn, and possibly the Brick House. The estate is a designated U.S. National Historic Landmark. Purchase Monroe and his uncle Joseph Jones jointly purchased 4,400 acres (18 km2) of land in Loudoun County in 1794. When Jones died without direct heirs in 1805, Monroe gained sole possession of the property. However, Monroe continued to live primarily at Highland, his residence in Albemarle County—until 1826, when he was forced to sell that property to pay debts he had incurred while serving as president. Attempted sale Monroe had put Oak Hill on the market in 1809, and placed an advertisement in The Washingtonian on December 23 of that year: He also attempted to sell the land in 1825, but failed to receive an acceptable bid both times. Retirement In 1822, Monroe began construction on the main house, a two-story brick mansion in the Federal style. He hired James Hoban, the designer of the White House, to serve as architect. Monroe's longtime friend and political mentor Thomas Jefferson offered many design suggestions.