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This is the third in a series of articles focusing on the history of the Longlea Estate
By Don Audette
Special to the Rappahannock News
People have always been struck by Longlea. It is not often that one sees in the Virginia countryside a full-scale stone Tudor-style home, threestorys high, set on rising ground with magnificent views, with a stream the size of the Hazel River flowing by and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.
From the 1930s, guests of Charles Marsh and Alice Glass, who had created Longlea, commented on the elegance of the estate, the views, and the tranquility of the place, a site just over the Rappahannock County line in Culpeper County.
John Figher recently recalled for the writer his first impression of Longlea in the autumn of 1965, before the American Security Council Foundation, which he headed, bought it. Driving with a Rappahannock County realtor along a single-lane gravel road off of Route 707 and coming upon the manor house he said, “Wow!” Inside he said, “Wow!” Of the view toward the west from the terrace he said, “Wow!”
In November 2000, when the wife of the anonymous donor of Longlea to Opus Dei, a religipus organization, first saw the peaceful setting, a gifting decision was made within minutes. The story is this. In late 1999, she and her husband had attended Opus Dei retreats held at the Tidewater Inn in Maryland or at other places lacking the quiet and privacy really needed for religious contemplation. The wife took it upon herself to find a better place. She contacted a broker, and saw Longlea. After that first decisive visit, she returned with her husband and Father Stetson of Wyoming House, Inc., a non-profit Opus Dei residence in the Kalorama section of Washington, D.C. Her husband agreed. The site was ideal for a conference center and retreat. He paid $7.4 million in cash for the entire property, and Longlea was accepted by Father Stetson on behalf of Opus Dei. The sale was completed on February 2, 2001.
A fair amount of repairs and upgrades were done by Wyoming House before Longlea was ready for use in 2002. Wagner Roofing replaced the slate roof shingles on the back of the manor house, and used good shingles from both front and rear to restore the front roof. A new shingle roof was put on the Office/Library building. A media center in the manor house was converted into a chapel. A bell was placed on the front lawn, a gift from an Opus Dei member who stipulated it be rung twice a year, on July 4th and on the donor's father's birthday. In the past few weeks, the former library has been renamed Overlook, and the Ogle Hall residence is now called Hazelwood. Otherwise, little has changed since 2001. Opus Dei at Longlea
Opus Dei is a part of the Catholic Church called a personal prelature. Composed of ordinary individuals, it falls directly under the Pope. Opus Dei, which is Latin for “Work of God,” was founded by Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer in Spain in 1928. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 6, 2002. The Pope
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