History of Burke Lake Park Traditional Cache
History of Burke Lake Park
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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By the 1950s, Northern Virginia had been growing due to increased military in the area. There weren't enough housing units for the military, and the area was growing quickly. The area needed an additional airport. The Springfield/Burke area had less than 500 residents, so it was determined that the area would be a perfect place for an airport. The area that is now Burke Lake Park was obtained for that purchase. It must have been quite a shock when in 1951 the Federal government condemned 4520 acres in/around Burke for the purpose of building a new airport. It had been determined that Washington National Airport could not be expanded, and Friendship Airport (now BWI) was considered too far away to meet the needs of the Washington metropolitan area. Other locations had been considered, but Burke was the first choice (Chantilly the second). Citizens formed an opposition and lobbied members of Congress. They gained local support very quickly and eventually caused President Eisenhower’s staff to select Chantilly rather than Burke.
That land that had been taken by the government was offered back to some of the former owners, but most of them had relocated and were not interested or couldn't afford it. Almost 900 acres were given by the Federal government to the Fairfax County Park Authority, resulting in the building of Burke Lake Park. Imagine how different our area would be if Dulles Airport had been built in Burke rather than in Chantilly.
The cleared area on the way to the cache must of been a homestead of some sort. FCPA park officials don't have any information on what it originally was, however if you check the area out, there appears to be some farm equipment, and a stone with some writing on it. If anyone finds out more about this area, I'll add it to the cache page.
Approved by FCPA
This cache was originally placed and hunted during the Winter Event in 2012 on February 25th.
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| NOTICE: Please be respectful of the posted park hours. If you enter the park after hours you are trespassing. If you are stopped you can be ticketed or arrested and will put the future of geocaching in the parks in jeopardy |
| You can check "Civil Dawn/Dusk" hours Here |
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
sebz bs gur pyrnevat, gur evtug fvqr bs gur cngu