I have many loves, and several of them start with the letter 'G' - Geocaching, Gardening, and GOLF! I decided to start a Golf Series - because every course I play seems to have perfect spots for caches everywhere - well, here is the first in the 'golf series' - although I do have several near other courses......I digress yet again - if you are standing near the cache, it is worth the time to trek to the top of the hill that is the centerpoint for the Belle Haven neighborhood - it was one of 60 Civil War era forts in and around Washington, D.C. - there is a small park surrounding the ruins at the top of the hill - you will also be treated to some beautiful homes and gardens .....
Belle Haven Country Club and the surrounding Belle Haven residential community began together in the early 1920's when David Janney Howell, a civil engineer from Alexandria, purchased the land from owners Mrs. Thomas Wilfred Robinson, Sr. and her brothers. Upon purchasing the land, David Howell set up two corporations, one to construct a golf course and club, and the other to develop a residential subdivision. The land was deeded to the Club on September 1, 1924.
Prior to this purchase, the land had a rich history. In 1608, Captain John Smith found a settlement of Indians from the Dogue Tribe at Great Hunting Creek. Maps made by John Smith during his trip records a native American villages just south of Great Hunting Creek in the Belle Haven area. In the late 1600's, a tavern was built on the north shore of Hunting Creek, designed to refresh travelers on the now active King's Highway and those ships anchoring at the mouth of Hunting Creek. John Mathews' tavern was at the present location of Telegraph Road and Duke Street. The port of Alexandria flourished because it was less prone to silting than other tobacco ports along the river. South of Mathews' tavern stood the West Grove Plantation, where Belle Haven Country Club now stands. The West Grove Plantation house was located near where the clubhouse stands today. The plantation house stood on this land until it was burned to the ground by federal troops retaliating against the owner's sons for serving as officers on General Robert E. Lee's staff. No house occupied this land again until the first house was built in the Belle Haven residential community at 6041 Woodmont Road.
The name Belle Haven is also part of history. When Scottish pioneers settled along the Potomac River in the early 1700's, they named the settlement after their favorite countryman, the Earl of Belhaven. This early settlement thrived along the Potomac River as a port and was later renamed Alexandria. The Belle Haven Country Club has now become part of the fabric of Alexandria growing together throughout the 20th and into the 21st century.
This cache is not located on the course, of course, ;-) - but I think a golfer may have been here - hopefully he was not this far out of bounds and did not need to putt from here!
As always, be respectful, bring your own pen, a pair of tweezers could be helpful - depending on how nimble your fingers - watch for traffic and muggles - and most of all, HAVE FUN!