Stoneleigh Villanova: What the 52-Acre Expansion Means

Ten acres does not sound like much until you know that the parcel in question was carved off the original Stoneleigh estate roughly a century ago, sold, subdivided, and then very nearly paved over for a middle school. In June 2026 it came back. Property transfers were completed that month, and Stoneleigh: a natural garden grew to 52 acres as it reunited with the adjacent Oakwell parcel, which had been subdivided from the Stoneleigh estate in the 1920s and 30s.

If you live within walking distance of County Line Road, this is the first late summer the garden has operated at something close to its intended scale since before the Depression. The August 2026 calendar reflects that. So does the way parking now spills onto Villanova University property on event nights. This post is a resident's read of what has changed on the ground and how to use it before Labor Day.

What Actually Changed On County Line Road

The reunification was not a straightforward land purchase. Ongoing conversations between Lower Merion School District and Natural Lands led to a conservation solution in early 2024, and that August the two organizations announced an agreement under which the district would sell 10 acres of Oakwell to Natural Lands to expand Stoneleigh, with the remaining three acres going to the Wyncote Foundation to restore and preserve the Oakwell mansion. Two years of survey work, easements, and closing logistics followed. The transfers finished this June.

For context on the original footprint: Stoneleigh's history dates to 1877, when Edmund Smith, a rising executive with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, purchased 65 acres of land in Villanova and constructed a residence there. At the turn of the century, Samuel and Eleanor Bodine bought the property and built the Tudor Revival building that still stands; in 1932 the property was subdivided, and Otto and Phoebe Haas acquired the southwestern portion, which the Haas family called home for more than 80 years. The Haas children donated their 42 acres to Natural Lands in 2016, and the garden opened to the public two years later. That donated core is what most Villanova residents have known as Stoneleigh. What opens this fall is closer to what the Smiths and Bodines walked.

That matters because the reclaimed acreage was not empty lawn. It carried the Oakwell mansion, mature canopy, and its own Olmsted-era planting logic. The garden is now anchored by set pieces that read differently across seasons, from woodland pinkroot in bloom in summer to the Great Lawn in autumn. The reunified property gives those set pieces a proper edge again.

The August Calendar Reads Differently This Year

The programming schedule for the rest of the month has more density than it usually carries, and the events are calibrated to the new footprint rather than the old 42-acre core. Here is what is on the books between now and Labor Day:

• August 6, 11, and 13 — volunteer mornings from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., meeting at the Welcome Kiosk
• August 15 — The Savoy Company presents Trial By Jury and other Gilbert and Sullivan hits, outdoor performance with gates at 5:00 p.m., rain date Sunday, August 16
• August 21, 22, and 26 — guided garden tours and walks, most starting mid-morning
• Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. — the garden itself, closed Mondays, free

The Savoy Company night is the one to plan around if you have not been. The Savoy Company returns for its annual summer performance presenting the hilarious one-act show that launched Gilbert and Sullivan's career, Trial By Jury, staged along with a selection of the composers' other hits. Gates open at 5:00 p.m., guests are encouraged to arrive early to picnic on the lawn or walk the summer garden, and the evening runs on blankets and lawn chairs.

The Parking Logistics Are The Real Tell

Here is the operational detail that quietly confirms the scale of what Stoneleigh has become. Guests with a Stoneleigh parking pass can use the one car allotted to the garden's guest lot at 1829 East County Line Road, which also serves accessible parking; every other guest parks at the Villanova Law School parking garage at 299 N Spring Mill Road, roughly a ten-minute walk from the performance location.

The main lot at Stoneleigh holds 63 cars. A summer evening at the Savoy show now moves several times that many guests through the property. If you are used to walking or biking over from Rosemont or the north side of Villanova, this is the year to keep doing that.

The Villanova Law overflow arrangement is not new, but it has grown into the default rather than the exception. Neighbors who used to arrive at 5:30 and find a spot on the grass do not any longer.

The Practical Details Worth Bookmarking

The generic version of a garden guide would stop at hours and admission. For a resident who plans to swing by three or four times before the leaves turn, these are the specifics that come up:

Picnicking at the Catalpa Court pavilion is available first come, first serve, the terrain is relatively level, and there is about a mile and a half of porous paved pathways and a mile of asphalt roads that are accessible to strollers, wheelchairs, and other mobility aids. That level path network is one of the reasons Stoneleigh functions as a genuine weekday walk rather than a special-occasion visit.

The Quieter Weekday Play

For anyone who lives close enough to walk over on a Tuesday morning, the garden works differently outside event nights. The AllTrails-listed loop is short. Stoneleigh Loop covers 0.9 miles with 49 feet of elevation gain and takes about 30 to 60 minutes to complete. With the Oakwell canopy folded in, the interior paths now branch more than that single loop implies.

The garden's identity remains native-first. Displays are built around plants that support local ecology and pollinators, and the Bodine-era architecture provides the frame. The Main House, in the Tudor Revival style, holds oak-paneled rooms, leaded glass windows, and elegant staircases, with French doors opening onto terraces that give way to vistas of stately trees and gardens. On a weekday morning with no event running, you can walk the Great Lawn, cut through the woodland edge, and be back on County Line inside an hour.

One footnote for anyone who has followed the property closely. Days before Stoneleigh's grand opening in May 2018, Natural Lands faced a fight to save the property when Lower Merion School District announced its intention to seize the historic gardens and buildings by eminent domain for a new middle school and sports complex; the Save Stoneleigh campaign drew immediate and overwhelming community support in response. The June 2026 transfers close the loop on that story. The land that was contested is now protected, and the parcel next door that was slated for the same fate is folded back in.

Why A Villanova Resident Should Care About Ten Acres

Ten acres inside an existing 42-acre garden is not a headline number. What it represents is more durable. The reunited property restores a design logic that had been fragmented for a century. It creates enough interior land that the garden can host something like the Savoy Company night without feeling stretched, and it protects a piece of Villanova that was one signed contract away from being a parking lot and a set of ballfields.

If you have not been in a while, the practical recommendation is to walk in on a Wednesday or Thursday before the school year restarts, sit on the Catalpa Court pavilion, and get a look at the new perimeter before the leaves change. If you have not booked the August 15 Savoy night, tickets and parking sold in tiers through Natural Lands. Either way, the version of Stoneleigh that opens for the second half of 2026 is not the one your neighbors saw last summer.

If you are thinking through what proximity to protected spaces like Stoneleigh means for a Villanova home purchase, sale, or long-term hold, Brent Lyle Erickson approaches Main Line real estate with the same patience the garden itself rewards. Let's connect.