Make sure to take in the best panorama of the Cave Spring area that I
can find while at the cache. Maybe post a picture to track how it changes over time.
Some call it a suburb of Roanoke, some say it is simply a postal
zone - we know it's in Southwest Roanoke County, and it’s on
Money Magazine’s list of the “Best 100 Small Towns in
America” (Not too shabby at No. 89). Whatever it is, Cave
Spring is a wonderful place. Its titular spring can be found at the
Cave Spring Rocks! Earthcache GC273MR This Geocache introduces cachers
to the history of the spring and the area.
Money conducted a poll that resulted in more than 43,000
respondents that measured what Americans value most. That poll
included good jobs, low crime, affordable housing, things to do,
schools, health care, diversity, weather, and much more as
important.
Money says, "Cave Spring is a slow-paced, family-oriented
community adjacent to the city of Roanoke, a bustling industrial
hub. Carilion Health Care, Advance Auto Parts, GE, Toshiba, and ITT
have large operations in the area. Virginia Tech is less than an
hour away, and several high-tech companies have a presence here
too. Cave Spring has a temperate four-season climate, so there are
recreation opportunities year round. For hiking and biking, the
Appalachian Trail isn't far, and there's skiing in the nearby Blue
Ridge Mountains."
The book History of the City of Roanoke (1968) asserts
that the locality derives its name from the spring which has its
source in a cave lying on the north side of Route 221 (Old Cave Spring Road
used to be 221, so now the spring is on the south side of 221). "The spring branch
augmented by several other springs flows westwardly about a mile until it enters a bottom.
This bottom was early known as'Muddy Lick' because some of the spring waters had
a saline content. Animals came here to lick the salt impregnated mud as they
did at 'Big Lick' (Roanoke's original name). This bottom is the
source of Mud Lick Run which flows north to empty in the Roanoke
River in the Norwich section of Roanoke City" ( just north of the
intersection of Mud Lick Road and Route 11/Brandon Avenue). In
Howes "Historical Collections" of 1845, mention is made of the
bones of a mastodon unearthed in the Big Lick bottom and exhibited
for many years on the porch of Pate's Store (intersection of I-581 and Orange Ave).
Roanoke County was formed out of Botetourt County in 1838, with
a county population of approximately 5,000. An original deeds map
of the Cave Spring area shows the region divided by tracts
belonging to David Stewart (1754), Jasper Terry (1756), and William
Preston (1773).
By a deed from Richard and Elizabeth Woods, dated December 9,
1790, for a consideration of 110 pounds, Esom Hannan became owner
of 400 acres of the David Stewart Grant. The area begins near the
foot of Sugar Loaf Mountain and runs southeasterly to embrace all
the “village” of Cave Spring as it was the 1950's. Esom declined into senility and
conveyed five acres, including the Cave Spring, to David and John
Ferguson in 1840, five years after the incorporation of the town of
Gainesboro, which would become Big Lick in 1874. Yes, the spring
has flowed even since before these early times when Native
Americans and forest creatures were its only visitors. The survey
mentions a school house which stood on the hill behind the Cave
Spring - now Brambleton Avenue. In 1854 a Presbyterian church of
brick was "built on the hill over the Cave Spring, near a clum of
trees. This building was demolished some years ago." The current
owners of the spring have collected rusty relics of these bygone
buildings.
In History of the City of Roanoke (1968), the author is
"impressed by the number of springs found in the village, for from
nearly every house, bold springs bubble then dance away in
sparkling branches west to join and form Mud Lick Creek on its dash
to the Roanoke River. Doubtless this is the reason one often hears
Cave Spring referred to in the plural".
On September 30th, 1911 Robert F. Wyatt moved back to Roanoke
after performing construction work on the Shenandoah Valley
Railroad, several branches of the Norfolk & Western, as well as
projects that took him to Washington D.C. and the island of
Jamaica. The book History of Roanoke County (1912) records he
purchased the "Cave Spring" property with an intent to improve and
perhaps capitalize on the spring, "the water of which pocesses fine
medicinal qualities". The History of the City of Roanoke reveals
how this plan turned out. It mentions Wyatt bought the old Berry
Store which was a landmark at the intersection of Electric Road and
Brambleton Avenue. The store dates back to the founding of Roanoke
County and also originally had a blacksmiths shop. The store passed
through several hands to Joseph W. Berry, then Wyatt. We read "Mr.
Wyatt built himself a handsome residence, operated the store and
tried, unsuccessfully, to find some medicinal virtues in the water
of the Cave Spring. When the store was demolished to widen the
intersection it was "discovered to have been built of logs and
weatherboarded over." Berry Lane near the area is the only lasting
testament today to this early enterprise.
In 1917 the spring property was purchased from Robert Wyatt by
Albert Beauregard Rasnake. It then passed to his son W. B. Rasnake.
His wife was interviewed by the Roanoke Times in 1980 at the age of
79 regarding the spring. “On Sundays, you’d think it
was a circus going on the way people used to stop at the spring to
get water.” A large oak once crowned the tall face of the
rock that shielded the spring, but the oak is gone, a victim of
long ago storms. According to her she never entered the spring, but
her husband, wielding a torch would: “walking and walking
until he finally got to where the spring tapered to just a big hole
in a rock. The source has never been found.” Throughout the
20th century, many Roanokers were accustomed to hiking to Cave
Spring to picnic by its waters and drink from its cool, dark
depths. On some Saturday nights, young men in the vicinity sloshed
into the cave with some apple brandy and settled into the echoing
chamber to see who could sing the loudest. I took a look in the
cave in 2010 and the point where the ceiling tapers into the water
is only about 20’ from the entrance. I did not venture
further into this chilly, fragile ecosystem, but we did venture a
few songs. The Rasnakes likely built the log cabin still standing
near the spring and also installed many wildflowers which can still
be found in bloom. Delmar Burnette purchased the spring in 1972,
and it has changed hands since.
A more recent article in the Roanoke Times mentioned old-timers
still living in the area who testify to the spring's medicinal
qualities. Several other nearby localities were named in honor of
their hydrological features, such as Virginia Etna Springs, Warm
Springs, Hot Springs, White Sulphur Springs, and Botetourt Springs
Resort which became the nucleus of Hollins College. Another
important spring was Big Cook Spring in Bonsack, an area heavily
damaged by the Civil War.
RECENT CAVE SPRING HISTORY:
Roanoke County was the first locality in Virginia to have curbside
recycling.
In December 2006, the first LED billboard of it's kind in the
Roanoke Metro area doused nearby businesses and Brambleton Avenue
in its otherworldly glow. Initially the billboard sparked some
concerns as engineers adjusted it's luminance from
“blinding” down to a more normal level, and since then
residents have overwhelmingly embraced the technology. I mistook it
for the sunset on my way home from work that first evening. The
high definition billboard is at the nearby intersection of Old Cave
Spring Road and Brambleton Avenue.
An interesting fact is that according to A History of Roanoke
and Roanoke County, there has never been a tornado in the Roanoke
area in recorded history. However on the night of June 3rd, 2008 a
"severe thunderstorm with some rotation" unleashed it's fury upon
South Jefferson Street and the 2200 block of Brambleton Avenue in
the City, uprooting a 250-year-old white oak along with other large
trees. Although downed trees were tossed like "rag dolls", damaging
some houses and crushing five cars, the National Weather Service
stopped short of designating the storm a "tornado".
Cave Spring residents were awakened from their beds at 4 A.M.
Saturday May 16th, 2009 by a magnitude 3.0 earth quake, centered
near Cordell Drive (N 37.248, 80.002W). In 2011, a 5.8 quake centered in
Louisa County, Virginia was strongly felt in the area and damaged the Washington
Monument. It equaled the largest earthquake east of the Rocky Mountains set
by an 1897 quake in nearby Giles County, and a 1944 quake on the NY State -
Ontario border. Virginia Tech's seismological observatory has registered
300 earthquakes in its history, 95% of which are never felt. Historically the New
River in Giles County is the most active seismic region in Virginia.
The first traffic roundabout in the Roanoke Valley opened just
before 4 P.M. November 5th, 2009 in Cave Spring on Colonial Avenue.
Previously traffic circles have been attempted in Southwest
Virginia areas with limited success. One in Blacksburg was removed
after town traffic engineers logged 200 complaints from drivers
they described as simply "confused".
Mitt Romney's VP running mate Paul Ryan made a campaign visit to Brambleton
Northwest Hardware just down the street in August, 2012.
CAVE SPRING CELEBS:
The Roanoker Magazine recently named Cave Spring High School the
number one school in the valley for its strong performances in SAT
scores, state rankings and graduation rates.
Identical twins Tiki and Ronde Barber attended Cave Spring High
School. Tiki was a running back for the New York Giants and has
also joined NBC as a sports commentator.
Ronde Barber is currently a cornerback for the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. At Cave Spring High School Ronde won the national title
in the 55 meter hurdles as a senior.
Jonathan Clay "J. J." Redick was a McDonald's All-American at
Cave Spring High School. He went on to attend Duke University where
he set the record for the most consecutive free throws made in the
ACC with 54, and currently holds the all-time leading scorer record
at Duke. He was selected 11th overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the
Orlando Magic. He earned Associated Press Player of the Year honors
in 2005 and the ACC Player of the Year in 2006.
There’s an airport 25 min. away. Two entrances to the Blue
Ridge Parkway are within 20 minutes.
Parks, streams, wilderness trails, and publicly accessible
playgrounds provide outdoor diversion. Proximate to it’s main
artery, Brambleton Avenue, one can find medical clinics, dentists,
veterinarians, a post office, the headquarters library for the
County, fitness centers, numerous churches, a funeral home,
countless pharmacies, a hardware store, gas stations, car washes,
office parks, salons, car dealerships, auto supply and repair
shops, coffee hang-outs, and both fast food and traditional
restaurants representing a bevy of international tastes. Two Kroger
supermarkets are almost within sight distance of one another. A
large community center and some of the highest ranked schools in
the area attract many newcomers.
If you find yourself bushwhacking in any grass over your ankle,
there is an easier way. Finding it may be a reel challenge, but
putting it back AS FOUND could be a ball.
