Oakville estate circa 1919 with the tree lined driveway that is now Swann Avenue to the plantation house.
Originally published in the August 2023 edition of Greet Del Ray.
Now that Oakville Triangle is being redeveloped again, it is time to remember its legacy.
William Swann married Frances B. Alexander, the granddaughter of the founder of Alexandria, and inherited “Preston”, the Alexander plantation just north of the original city (located on the new Virginia Tech campus). When their youngest son, Thomas William Swann, married Helen M. Chapman in 1830, they received over 100 acres of land to live and work on. Swann built a home on it and dubbed it “Oakville.” Swann grew primarily hay, rye, oats and corn and had 6 adult slaves in 1860.
In the late 1850s, the predecessor to the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad purchased a right of way through Swann's farm, building their line to Alexandria only about 125 feet from his home. The advent of the railroad prompted Swann to move his family up to the ridgeline which became a popular location for wealthy estates. Thomas built a new home called “Mt. Auburn” situated on the highest point of what is now The Aspen Apartments' parking lot. He retained and continued to farm Oakville for the remainder of his life, and the original plantation house remained. Thomas and Helen both died in 1895, leaving their estate to their only living child, Susan Pearson Alexander Calvert.
Susan's husband, George E. Calvert, was a government clerk, and they were not prepared to continue operating the vast farmland. They began selling off the land. The farm that had been 118 acres in 1860, was less than 60 acres by 1900 and was divided by the new development of St. Elmo. Their land was also divided by the new Mt. Vernon Ave. and the electric trolley line to Washington (now Commonwealth Ave.). After Susan died in 1919, the original Oakville plantation house, which she was born in, was torn down. Her daughter, Helen Calvert inherited the land, and she slowly sold off her estates. The 21.5 acres she owned further south was donated to create the George Washington High School (now a Middle School). The 10 acres of land between Glebe Rd. and Ashby St. became Auburn Gardens Apartments (now Auburn Village Condos). The 15 acres around the original Oakville house was sold off and developed in the early 1960s into Oakville Triangle industrial park.