There is an area of Oro valley called Suffolk Hills. It's name is derived from an interesting source. It's a piece of our local history that involves an Earl, a wealthy duchess, and the Viceroy of India. It is a most fascinating modern fairy tale that one could imagine. Born in 1879, Margaret Leiter was youngest daughter of Chicago businessman Levi Ziegler Leiter who co-founded the Marshall Field & Company retail empire. Levi sent all three of his daughters to private boarding schools in England. After his death, they inherited a $48 million estate.
Margaret’s eldest sister Mary married the British Conservative statesman George Curzon, later 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, who was Viceroy of India in the late years of the nineteenth century. It was while visiting her sister in India that Margaret was introduced to the Viceroy’s aide-de-camp Henry Molyneux Paget Howard, 19th Earl of Suffolk, 12th Earl of Berkshire. They were married in December 1906. Henry & Margaret had three children. The Earl was killed in World War I at the Battle of Istabul in April 1917, serving as a major in the Wiltshire Battery, 3rd Wessex Brigade, Royal Field Artillery.
It is not certain why Margaret came to live in Arizona preceding his death, although it is known that she accompanied an Englishman by the name of Colonel Gillette who had respiratory problems, so climate may have been a major factor. In 1934, using the assumed name Marguerite Hyde, the Countess bought the land to the north of Westward Look & east of Oracle Road.
A local architect known for his modern designs, Richard A. Morse, began the task of possibly the first modernized architecturally designed home lacking in the typical characteristics of homes seen in Tucson at the time. In fact it was such a departure from the typical that it became nationally published in the book "The Modern House in America," in 1940 and in "Architectural Record Magazine," in 1941. She called the five bedroom house “Forest Lodge” as it was surrounded by citrus groves. She used the house as her winter residence; spending around four months each year there.
In 1954 she sold the property because she felt city development was encroaching on her property. The mansion eventually sold to Sisters of Immaculate Heart who started a school that still operates today. The caretaker’s building became the school office. Stables were converted into classrooms. The former garage now houses sixth-grade classes, and the mansion house itself is still home to eight sisters.
An interesting end to the story.
Margaret bought 3,500 acres in the Nortwest foothills of Santa Catalina mountains in the town of Oracle. This Suffolk house nestled against the mountains was lavish in design and remained her residence until her death in 1968. Motorola bought 300 acres and then donated the land to the University of Arizona in 1980. In 1984, the University sold this land to a group called Biosphere Ventures for $3.4 million and in turn created the one-of-a-kind experimental terrarium.
If you haven't had the opportunity to experience some of this history, take a drive around the area and wave to the sisters in the school yard of Immaculate Heart. And if you're inclined to, stop off at their little store along the roadside, "The Cottage," and donate some items or search the shelves for second-hand treasures. All proceeds go toward the school.
Want to learn more?
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Heather Nenadovich has lived in Oro Valley a total of five years. She has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Arizona. Her husband is Canadian so she is a hockey fan by default and so are her two very clever children. When not being a mommy, she enjoys hiking in Catalina State Park, hand building pottery, and gardening. Her favorite things about living in Oro Valley are the towns recognition of art and culture, their commitment to preserving nature and the Christmas parade. (Also anything from GMG Chinese Bistro.)
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