Near Arrington in Nelson County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Oak Ridge Estate

Photographed by Laura Troy, July 24, 2008

1. Oak Ridge Estate Marker

Inscription. About two miles east is Oak Ridge, a 4,800-acre estate first patented in the 1730s. Robert Rives (1764-1845), a tobacco planter and international trader, built his house there in 1802. In 1867, William Porcher Miles (1822-1899), a former Confederate congressman, acquired the plantation. Nelson County native and Wall Street financier Thomas Fortune Ryan (1851-1928) purchased Oak Ridge in 1901 and transformed it into a country estate. He remodeled Rives's Federal farmhouse into a Colonial Revival mansion and built some 80 structures, including schools, a telephone company building, a movie theater, and stables for Ryan's 200 Thoroughbreds. A Crystal Palace-style greenhouse, a racetrack, and a private railroad station are among 50 surviving structures.

Erected 1996 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number R-57.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Colonial Era • Horticulture & Forestry • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1802.

Location. 37° 42.964′ N, 78° 54.549′ W. Marker is near Arrington, Virginia, in Nelson County. It is

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on Thomas Nelson Highway (U.S. 29) south of Oak Ridge Road (County Route 653), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Arrington VA 22922, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Piedmont

and in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Birthplace of Rives (here, next to this marker); Jimmy Fortune (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Earl Henry Hamner, Jr. (about 700 feet away); Cabellsville (approx. 1.8 miles away); Lovingston High School (approx. 2.9 miles away); Nelson Memorial Library (approx. 2.9 miles away); Lovingston (approx. 3.7 miles away); Confederate Memorial (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Arrington.

Photographed by Forest McDermott, August 3, 2016

2. Oak Ridge Estate Marker

Marker is next to the Birthplace of Rives marker and the Oak Ridge Road is on the right in the photo.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 19, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 14, 2008, by Laura Troy of Burke, Virginia. This page has been viewed 3,410 times since then and 168 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 14, 2008, by Laura Troy of Burke, Virginia. 2. submitted on August 6, 2016, by Forest McDermott of Masontown, Pennsylvania. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.