The Homestead, Virginia
Encyclopedia
The Homestead is a luxury resort in Hot Springs, Virginia
, in the middle of the Allegheny Mountains
. The area has the largest hot spring
s in the state, and the resort is also known for its championship golf
courses, which have hosted several national tournaments. The resort also includes an alpine ski
resort; founded in 1959, it is the oldest in Virginia
. The resort has been designated a National Historic Landmark
; it has a history extending nearly two and a half centuries.
built a lodge on the site, which is considered the founding of The Homestead. It has hosted vacationers ever since, including several U.S. presidents. The modern resort dates from 1888-1892, when a group of investors headed by J. P. Morgan
bought the business and started rebuilding it from the ground up. The original hotel buildings burned down in 1901, and the main Homestead hotel was constructed afterwards. Many American presidents were Homestead guests, along with such notables as cartoonist Carl E. Schultze
of Foxy Grandpa
fame.
For several months following the United States' entry into World War II
, the Homestead was used exclusively to house Japan
ese diplomats and their families until they could be exchanged through neutral channels for their American counterparts.
In 1993, The Homestead was purchased by Club Resorts, the same company which owned the Pinehurst Resort
. In 2006 Club Resorts and its parent company ClubCorp, Inc. were acquired by a private-equity group led by KSL Capital Partners, LLC. KSL Resorts assumed management of The Homestead at this time.
It was designated a National Historic Landmark
in 1991.
The Homestead features three golf courses. The club is sometimes referred to as Virginia Hot Springs Golf & Tennis Club.
The Old Course started as a six-hole layout in 1892, and the first tee is the oldest in continuous use in the United States
. It was expanded to 18 holes by 1901, and Donald Ross redesigned it in 1913. The course has been modified at various times since, and the current course has six par 5s and six par 3s, a somewhat unusual layout.
The Cascades Course is the most famous of the three, and is usually ranked among the top 100 U.S. courses by both Golf Digest
and GOLF Magazine
. The Cascades is the course used when hosting national tournaments, including seven United States Golf Association
championships. It was designed by William S. Flynn (who was also a main architect for Shinnecock Hills
), and opened in 1923.
The Lower Cascades was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr.
in 1963. It has hosted qualifying rounds for the U.S. Amateur tournament.
Famed PGA Tour
champion Sam Snead
lived in or near Hot Springs all of his life, and served for decades as the Homestead's golf pro. One of the Homestead's restaurants, Sam Snead's Tavern, contains many memorabilia related to his career.
in Virginia, and the second-oldest continuously operating alpine ski
resort in the Southern United States
(after Wisp Resort).
The resort's northwest-facing slope is serviced by five lifts, including a double chairlift
which accesses the intermediate and advanced terrain at the top of the hill, and four surface lift
s which serve the beginner terrain at the bottom. The chairlift has a mid-mountain drop-off station which accesses intermediate terrain. The resort offers a half-pipe
and a terrain park
for skiers
and snowboarders
, and a variety of other winter activities including snow tubing, snowshoe
ing, cross-country skiing
, ice skating
, and snowmobile
tours.
since 1983.
Hot Springs, Virginia
Hot Springs is a census-designated place in Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 738. It is located about 5 miles southwest of Warm Springs on U.S. Route 220. Hot Springs is the site of a number of resorts that make use of the springs.The area is...
, in the middle of the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
. The area has the largest hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s in the state, and the resort is also known for its championship golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
courses, which have hosted several national tournaments. The resort also includes an alpine ski
Alpine Ski
Alpine Ski is an Alpine skiing arcade game, released by Taito in 1981.- Description :The player controls a skier, who can move left, right, or increase forward speed. The aim is to maneuver a skier through a downhill ski course, a slalom course, and a ski jumping competition in the shortest time...
resort; founded in 1959, it is the oldest in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The resort has been designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
; it has a history extending nearly two and a half centuries.
History
In 1766, Thomas BullittThomas Bullitt
Thomas Bullitt was an United States soldier and pioneer from Prince William County, Virginia.Thomas was born to Benjamin and Sarah Bullitt abut 1734 in Prince William County of Virginia. He became active in the militia when young, and became interested in western exploration and development...
built a lodge on the site, which is considered the founding of The Homestead. It has hosted vacationers ever since, including several U.S. presidents. The modern resort dates from 1888-1892, when a group of investors headed by J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
bought the business and started rebuilding it from the ground up. The original hotel buildings burned down in 1901, and the main Homestead hotel was constructed afterwards. Many American presidents were Homestead guests, along with such notables as cartoonist Carl E. Schultze
Carl E. Schultze
Carl Edward Schultze was an American newspaper cartoonist best known for his popular Foxy Grandpa comic strip series. He drew the strip under the pseudonym Bunny, his childhood nickname...
of Foxy Grandpa
Foxy Grandpa
Foxy Grandpa was a newspaper comic strip featuring an eponymous character, created by cartoonist Carl E. Schultze drawing under the name of “Bunny.”Foxy Grandpa made its first appearance on January 7, 1900...
fame.
For several months following the United States' entry into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Homestead was used exclusively to house Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese diplomats and their families until they could be exchanged through neutral channels for their American counterparts.
In 1993, The Homestead was purchased by Club Resorts, the same company which owned the Pinehurst Resort
Pinehurst Resort
Pinehurst Resort is a historic upmarket golf resort at Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA. It has hosted a number of prestigious golf tournaments.-History:...
. In 2006 Club Resorts and its parent company ClubCorp, Inc. were acquired by a private-equity group led by KSL Capital Partners, LLC. KSL Resorts assumed management of The Homestead at this time.
It was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1991.
Golf
The Old Course started as a six-hole layout in 1892, and the first tee is the oldest in continuous use in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was expanded to 18 holes by 1901, and Donald Ross redesigned it in 1913. The course has been modified at various times since, and the current course has six par 5s and six par 3s, a somewhat unusual layout.
The Cascades Course is the most famous of the three, and is usually ranked among the top 100 U.S. courses by both Golf Digest
Golf Digest
Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
and GOLF Magazine
Golf Magazine
Golf Magazine is a monthly golf magazine owned by Time Inc.. It was started in 1960 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was the world's most widely read golf publication from August 2006 to January 2007. The magazine is...
. The Cascades is the course used when hosting national tournaments, including seven United States Golf Association
United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
championships. It was designed by William S. Flynn (who was also a main architect for Shinnecock Hills
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is a links-style golf club located in the hamlet of Shinnecock Hills in the town of Southampton on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It has hosted the U.S. Open four times in three different centuries and will host the 2018 U.S. Open...
), and opened in 1923.
The Lower Cascades was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr.
Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was a golf course architect who designed about 500 golf courses in at least 40 US states and 35 other countries all around the world...
in 1963. It has hosted qualifying rounds for the U.S. Amateur tournament.
Famed PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
champion Sam Snead
Sam Snead
Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S...
lived in or near Hot Springs all of his life, and served for decades as the Homestead's golf pro. One of the Homestead's restaurants, Sam Snead's Tavern, contains many memorabilia related to his career.
Tournaments
- 1928 U.S. Women's Amateur, won by Glenna Collett
- 1932 National Intercollegiate ChampionshipNCAA Division I Men's Golf ChampionshipsThe NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. It is a stroke play team competition, starting in 2009 the competition changed to a stroke play/match play competition with the top 8 teams after 54 holes of...
, won by YaleYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(team) and John FischerJohn Fischer (golfer)John W. Fischer was an American amateur golfer in the 1930s.Fischer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He won the 1932 NCAA individual golf championship and the Big Ten Conference individual championship in 1932, 1933 and 1935 while playing at the University of Michigan. He also won the 1936 U.S...
(individual) - 1966 Curtis CupCurtis CupThe Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match . It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and the Ladies Golf Union and is contested by teams representing the United States and "Great Britain and Ireland"...
, won by the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
over Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
& IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
13-5 - 1967 U.S. Women's Open, won by Catherine LacosteCatherine LacosteCatherine Lacoste is a French amateur golfer. She won the 1967 U.S. Women's Open as a 22-year-old amateur, playing in just her third professional golf tournament...
- 1980 U.S. Senior Amateur, won by William C. CampbellWilliam C. CampbellWilliam Cammack Campbell , often known as Bill Campbell or William C. Campbell, is an American amateur golfer and two-time President of the United States Golf Association . He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.Campbell was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He served in the U.S...
- 1988 U.S. Amateur, won by Eric Meeks
- 1994 U.S. Women's Amateur, won by Wendy WardWendy WardWendy Ward is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour.-Early life, education and amateur career:Ward was born in San Antonio, Texas....
- 1995 Merrill Lynch Shoot-Out Championship (Senior PGA Tour)
- 1996 Merrill Lynch Shoot-Out Championship (Senior PGA Tour)
- 2000 U.S. Mid-Amateur, won by Greg Puga
- 2004 NCAA Division I Men's ChampionshipNCAA Division I Men's Golf ChampionshipsThe NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. It is a stroke play team competition, starting in 2009 the competition changed to a stroke play/match play competition with the top 8 teams after 54 holes of...
, won by CaliforniaCalifornia Golden BearsThe California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...
(team) and Ryan Moore (UNLV)(individual) - 2009 USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship
Ski resort
The ski area at The Homestead was opened in 1959; it is the oldest ski resortSki resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
in Virginia, and the second-oldest continuously operating alpine ski
Alpine Ski
Alpine Ski is an Alpine skiing arcade game, released by Taito in 1981.- Description :The player controls a skier, who can move left, right, or increase forward speed. The aim is to maneuver a skier through a downhill ski course, a slalom course, and a ski jumping competition in the shortest time...
resort in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
(after Wisp Resort).
The resort's northwest-facing slope is serviced by five lifts, including a double chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
which accesses the intermediate and advanced terrain at the top of the hill, and four surface lift
Surface lift
A surface lift is a type of cable transportation system used to transport skiers and snowboarders where riders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill.Types of surface lifts include the Poma lift, J-bar, T-bar, rope tow, and magic carpet....
s which serve the beginner terrain at the bottom. The chairlift has a mid-mountain drop-off station which accesses intermediate terrain. The resort offers a half-pipe
Half-pipe
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, and inline skating. The structure is wood, concrete, metal, earth, or snow. It resembles a cross section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps , topped by copings and...
and a terrain park
Terrain park
A terrain park is an outdoor area that contains terrain that allows skiers and snowboarders to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. One of the first in-bounds terrain parks was the "Snowboard Park" built in 1990 at the Vail...
for skiers
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and snowboarders
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, and a variety of other winter activities including snow tubing, snowshoe
Snowshoe
A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....
ing, cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
, ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
, and snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
tours.
Ice Skating Rink
In 2008, The Homestead built a 30 X 20 foot ice skating rink in time for the 2008-2009 winter season. It is located on the north slope of the property, next to the outdoor restaurant and gift shop. A small festival of lights surrounds the rink, and an outdoor fire with piped-in Christmas music completes the scene.Elevation
- Summit Elevation: 3200 ft (975.4 m)
- Base Elevation: 2500 ft (762 m)
- Vertical Rise: 700 feet (213.4 m)
Terrain
- Skiable area: 45 acre (0.1821087 km²)
- Runs: 10 total
- 30% beginner
- 30% intermediate
- 40% advanced
- Longest run: 4200 feet (1,280.2 m)
- Annual snowfall: 50 inches (1.3 m)
Resort capacity
- Lift system: 5 lifts total
- 1 double chairliftChairliftAn elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
- 1 j-barJ-bar liftA J-bar is a type of surface lift invented in the 1940sfor ski area passenger transport. They are now rarely in operation having been superseded by T-bars, which have twice the capacity at basically the same price, and chairlifts which have many advantages...
- 1 t-barT-bar liftA T-bar lift, also called T-bar, is a mechanised system for transporting skiers and snowboarders uphill, along the surface of the slope...
- 2 rope tows
- 1 double chairlift
- Uphill lift capacity: 3,000 skiers/hour
- Snowmaking: 100% of trails
March 2009 shooting
On March 21, 2009 two resort employees were shot and killed in the hotel kitchen; the community of Hot Springs was briefly locked down under code red procedures as a security precaution. Authorities identified fellow employee Beacher Hackney as a suspect in the killings. The slayings were the first homicides in Bath CountyBath County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,048 people, 2,053 households, and 1,451 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 2,896 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile...
since 1983.