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MCirba

  • Karma: +0/-0
Historic Foxburg CC article
« on: February 12, 2021, 11:27:29 AM »
A nice article has been written about Foxburg Country Club which claims to be the oldest continually played golf course in the United States.   I visited there a few years back with some fellow GCA-ers and it's a very special place.   I'm hoping that we don't devolve into a contentious debate about which course is oldest here but I will say that I've not seen definitive evidence that there is an older continuously used golf course and I've done a lot of research in that regard.   What I'd much rather see instead is an effort by some of the golf bodies to actively work to help preserve these treasures.

Enjoy!

https://wpga.org/nws/2021/210211-foxburg-country-club-the-oldest-course-in-continuous-use-in-us.html

Here's the IMO piece I did a few years back that I think came out fairly well.

https://golfclubatlas.com/in-my-opinion/cirba-mike-forgotten-foxburg-americas-oldest-golf-club/
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

Joe Bausch

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Historic Foxburg CC article
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2021, 11:54:20 AM »
@jwbausch (for new photo albums)
The site for the Cobb's Creek project:  https://cobbscreek.org/
Nearly all Delaware Valley golf courses in photo albums: Bausch Collection

Ken Fry

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Historic Foxburg CC article
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2021, 01:45:40 PM »
All,

I echo the comments about stopping in to Foxburg.  It's worth the experience of playing the course and visiting the clubhouse museum.

Here's also the thread on the "In My Opinion" piece with some additional comments and information on Foxburg.

https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,65447.0.html

Ken

Greg Hohman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Historic Foxburg CC article
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2021, 11:44:39 PM »
Last year a friend texted about the town:

I was up along the Allegheny River at the historic little town of Foxburg recently with family. It's located where the Clarion River enters the Allegheny. Foxburg is an anomaly in terms of Western Pennsylvania river towns. If you use your imagination---and this is quite a stretch---what remains can seem like a rural English village outlying but clustered near to the stately home of a titled aristocrat. It was founded by the Fox family of Philadelphia, who were the descendants of George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends. They had a sort of baronial estate and mansion there on the 7,000 acres or so they once owned. There's a notable Victorian-Gothic Episcopal church they commissioned (at some point, they apparently switched religions) and also a public library and music hall. A wealthy doctor purchased the mansion and grounds maybe 25 years ago and restored it along with commissioning some additions. He's responsible for the revival of the village, which includes the Allegheny Grille and Foxburg Inn. There's an art gallery in the Victorian former Fox-family offices now; a bistro in an erstwhile bank, a winery, etc. The rails-to-trails biking and all the aqua opportunities on the river---kayaking, etc.---may keep Foxburg going, although I'm sure the pandemic has not been kind to businesses this year. Among the reasons I'm thinking of you: There used to be a lovely hotel along the river---the Silver Fox Inn---which burned down in the 1960s. It had a somewhat notable summer-theater company there: the Silver Fox Playhouse. After the demise of the Inn, the company moved to an old barn and continued on for several more decades. Here are a few pages from an old program. One of the actors whose names I recognized from a 1957 production of The Chalk Garden is Jay Dantry. Jay (now deceased) was quite a colorful character in Pittsburgh, the longtime proprietor of the legendary Jay's Book Stall in Oakland.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2021, 12:03:34 AM by Greg Hohman »
newmonumentsgc.com

MCirba

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Historic Foxburg CC article
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2021, 08:12:50 AM »
Ken Fry,


Thanks for the link.




Greg Hohman,


Nice scene setting, thanks.
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

MCirba

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Historic Foxburg CC article
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2021, 01:38:58 PM »
Another good article about Foxburg from 2008;

https://pittsburghquarterly.com/articles/the-rub-of-the-green/
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

Matt Frey, PGA

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Historic Foxburg CC article
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2022, 12:40:34 PM »