“No sport can ever equal foxhunting for pure unadulterated fun, for insight into human nature, for judgement, for decision, for exercise, for comradeship, for sportsmanship.” — Charlotte Haxall Noland, Founder of Foxcroft School, Middleburg. Foreword to “The Hunt Country of America” by Kitty Slater.
If one wanted to learn about the history of fox hunting in northern Virginia, there are a number of books and articles on the topic in Loudoun and Fauquier counties.
The same for Fairfax County?
No, not at all.
Historical markers?
As far as we know there are no historical markers for fox hunting in Fairfax County.
But as we learned on our hunt, there are certainly some stories. So we decided to put together a look at the history of fox hunting in Fairfax County. We broke it down into five parts.
Part One: The Colonial Era
Part Two: The Nineteenth Century
Part Three: The Hampton Hounds Hunt
Part Four: The Fort Belvoir Hunt
Part Five: The Fairfax Hunt
Part One, The Colonial Era
Norman Fine, the prolific writer for Foxhunting Life, gives us a look at foxhunting in its early years (“Foxhunting in North America: A Brief History”). In the eighteenth century, English immigrants brought with them their “rural culture and hunting heritages” to the colonies of Maryland and Virginia.
The earliest record of foxhound importation was Robert Brooke in 1650. Brooke (1602-1655) was the governor of Maryland for part of 1652. He built plantation homes in what is now St. Mary’s, Calvert, and Charles counties. His hound bloodlines provided the basic stock for American strains.
On the Virginia side of the river, two men who knew a little something about horse riding and the lay of the Piedmont lands were George Washington and Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax (1693-1781) of Belvoir. In the years following the county’s founding in 1742, their friendship bonded as the two enjoyed fox hunting together.
As A.G. Bradley (“Wolfe and Washington as Sportsmen”) put it, Washington had a passion for outdoor life. The “note of horn and the cry of hound were sounds dear to his soul.”
Washington’s diary is filled with mentions of his fox hunts. William Lee, Washington’s enslaved valet, rode and surely displayed skills on the hunts. Washington also rode with Colonel William Fairfax, cousin of Thomas and builder of Belvoir, as well as his son George William Fairfax. He also hunted with Bryan Fairfax, 8th Lord Fairfax, and other neighbors. Washington’s diary contains more than 200 references to fox hunts.
In 1768, he went out 44 times during the season. On February 12th, he wrote — “Went fox-hunting with Colonel Fairfax, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Chichester, Captains Torrey and Manley, who dined here with Mrs. Fairfax and Miss Nichols. Catched two foxes.”
Note: Chichester was Richard Chichester (1736-1796). He lived near Mount Vernon at Cedar Grove, site on Fort Belvoir. McCarthy was Captain Daniel McCarty (1727-1791). Chichester married Sarah McCarty, daughter of Daniel. They lived at Mount Air, site in Newington. Both Chichester and McCarty were cousins of George Washington.
In her book, “The Hunt Country of America,” Kitty Slater writes that Thomas “is believed to have been the first Colonial to set up a pack of foxhounds in Virginia in the English manner and on the order of present-day organized hunts in America.” He supervised foxhound breeding.
Sherri L. Stewart (“An Historical Survey of Foxhunting in the United States, 1650-1970,” Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas) adds to our knowledge. She notes that Lord Fairfax’s pack in 1746 was made up in part by the hounds of George William Fairfax.
Fine tells us before Thomas moved to Virginia to take control of his inheritance, he sent hounds to George William Fairfax, his cousin. He later settled down at Greenway Court (about 20 miles west of Middleburg) and continued to enjoy fox hunting.
Edward F. Howrey (“Foxhunting in Fairfax County,” Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County, 2 1952-1953) provides insight (He acknowledges “The Story of American Foxhunting" (1941). Thomas kept hounds in the English traditions and was “a tremendous influence” in spreading the proper ways of conducting the hunts.
Washington on a foxhunt was immortalized by the prolific illustrator F.O.C. Darley (1822-1888). Of him, the Society of Illustrators writes: “More than any other single talent, F.O.C. Darley was responsible for the growth of illustration in early America.”
Image: Darley’s sketch is titled “Fox Hunting George Washington and Lord Fairfax.” It is on the cover of the book The Fairfax Family in Fairfax County.” That book and the Mount Vernon website use the title, “George William Fairfax foxhunting with George Washington.”
A.G. Bradley (“Wolfe and Washington as Sportsmen.” The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes) adds to our knowledge of Washington’s hunts by writing that Martha, “occasionally made one of the party, clad in a scarlet habit.” In Darley’s sketch, one sees what appears to be a woman rider.
In his memoir, “Recollections and private memoirs of Washington,” George Washington Parke Custis, Washington’s step grandson, devoted a chapter to “Washington as a Sportsman.”
Attire included a blue coat, scarlet waistcoat, buckskin breeches, top boots, and velvet cap. His kennel was located about a hundred yards south of the family vault. The pack were “very numerous and select, the colonel visiting and inspecting his kennel morning and evening.”
Custis also noted some of the names Washington gave to his hounds — Vulcan, Ringwood, Singer, Truelove, Music, Forrester, Rockwood.
Of George Washington, The Museum of Hounds and Hunting in North America (“George Washington: Foxhunter-In-Chief") observes — “His bold riding style, physical stamina, and focused ability to see a chase through to the end, no matter the dangers, undoubtedly contributed to the successful outcome of the war.”
Stewart tells us Washington’s last hunt took place on February 15, 1788. After that, he began to give his hounds to friends.
Part Two
19th Century
In her dissertation, Stewart points out there were few hunt clubs in Virginia before the Civil War. There was no need for them because of “the hospitality of the plantation owners and each owner of any significance maintained a pack of hounds.” One club that did emerge was the Piedmont Fox Hounds, the oldest active hunt in the US.
Howrey tells us fox hunts took place on the sprawling Ravensworth plantation where Mr. Chichester had a pack. Founders Online notes that Lund Washington (1737–1796), a cousin of Washington, managed the Ravensworth estates of Henry Fitzhugh (1727-1783). There was certainly room to hunt. Ravensworth was the largest plantation in the county.
Note: The Ravensworth plantation home was located near today’s southwest intersection of I-495 and Braddock Road.
Stewart adds that William Henry Chichester and George Mason Chichester, grandson of George Mason “were highly skilled riders who were the participants in many outstanding hunts.” George Washington had hunted with Richard Chichester (1736-1796).
In the 19th-century there was some newspaper coverage of fox hunts in and around Alexandria, but it was sporadic. Perhaps those Virginia hunters who sought greener pastures westward became part of fox hunts at their new homesteads.
Howrey tells us in 1828, a farmer said there were at least three hunts in the county - Fairfax Hunt, the Centreville Hunt, and the Washington Hunt. He adds adds that a hunting dog named Juno was remembered as a “favorite leader of the Washington pack.”
Citing the American Turf Register (Feb 1830), “Fairfax County, Virginia, A History” notes an account of a two-day hunt at Ravensworth on New Year’s Day, 1830. On the hunt were the hounds of Terret, Chichester, and Darne, and twenty-one horsemen. The pack was “thrown off west of the Winchester Turnpike.” (Note: Ravensworth was at the time the home of William Henry Fitzhugh and Anna Maria Sarah Goldsborough. Winchester Turnpike was modern day Braddock Road).
Fine points out the sport fell off in the South after the Civil War. It was resurrected in northern Virginia with the arrival of wealthy northerners. They were attracted to the Piedmont landscape with low stacked stone walls and rural farmlands that compared to the ideal Leicestershire hunting fields. Some of the hunt clubs in Loudoun and Fauquier counties knew a thing or two about foxhunting.
(Photo by author, Sign located at Welbourne.)
A mecca of sorts could be found at Welbourne, the mansion of the famed Dulany family, whose generations hunted there (four miles west of Middleburg). Colonel Richard Dulany and his son Richard Hunter Dulany were hound masters of the Piedmont Hunt, founded in 1840. Other stalwarts included the Warrenton Hunt (1887), Blue Ridge Hunt (1888), and the Loudoun Hunt (1894).
Part Three
Courtland Smith and the Hampton Hounds
Newspaper coverage of fox hunting picked up after the turn of the century. Then a seminal event took place in and around Middleburg and Upperville. This was the Great Hound Match of 1905.
In her book, "writes, “the match is responsible for the existence, the essence, and the mystique and the aura of Virginia’s Hunt Country.”
Harry Worcester Smith, touting the American hounds, squared off against Alexander Henry Higginson, a British-American who bragged on the English breeds. Both were from Massachusetts. Smith would go on to found the Masters Foxhounds Association, and as Kitty Slater put it, he became “one of the great figures in American foxhunting.”
With no foxes killed, the three judges announced: “We award the match and stack together with the Townsend Cup to the Grafton Pack (Smith), which in our opinion, has done the best work.”
The real winner was Middleburg and the surrounding countryside. More and more people of wealth arrived and turned older homes into mansions with stables and partook in fox hunting. As Vicky Moon (“The Middleburg Mystique”) observed, the ten-day event “raised Virginia’s profile as the nation’s most-fashionable place to hunt and helped grow the sport there.”
One of the clubs in northern Virginia getting their start around this time was the Hampton Hounds. Howrey only briefly mentions the club so we went on the hunt for more info. We were pleased that Eleanor Lee Templeman devotes a page to it in her “Arlington Heritage: Vignettes of a Virginia County.” She also wrote an article ("Fairlington Was Scene of Fox Hunting") in the Northern Virginia Sun, December 13, 1958).
In 1897, Courtland Hawkins Smith Jr. (1878-1952) bought land and a large white frame house on a higher spot of land just northeast of what is now Route 7 and I-395 in the Fairlington neighborhood. His father was Courtland Hawkins Smith Sr. (1850-1892). His grandfather was Francis L. Smith (1808-1877), famed attorney in Alexandria. The family lived at the often-admired Vowell-Smith house at 510 Wolfe Street.
Smith is a forgotten horse and hunt figure. Of him, the Southern Planter magazine (1903) wrote, “in all Virginia there is probably not a bolder and more intrepid horseman.” Smith moved into the house he bought from Charles Whiting.
Templeman writes the site of the farm (Hampton Farm) and stables was on or near S. Abingdon Street and 31st Road. The house was apparently located where 31st Street stops before reaching Route 7. During the Civil War, the Union erected Battery Garesche nearby. Margaret Daingerfield lived there. Smith remodeled the Whiting mansion and named it Hampton.
Smith turned his operation into “one of the largest and finest stock farms in the nation.” The Richmond Times-Dispatch (Feb 17, 1901) wrote he had one of the best-known breeding establishments in northern Virginia.
Smith raised hunters, steeple-chasers, and show horses. In 1899, he married Carlyle Herbert, a descendant of John Carlyle. Carlyle had built and owned Torthowald in the same vicinity. Carlyle Herbert Smith was also a notable horse rider.
The newspapers, including the Alexandria Gazette, gave some coverage of the Hampton Hounds.
One read:
“Smith’s hounds went out on a drag of about six miles in Fairfax County last Saturday. John Hyland, the huntsman, Mr. Smith, and several others were out including Messrs. Richard Windsor of Alexandria, and Murphy, of Washington, Lieutenants Short and White of the Fort Myer Calvary.”
The hunters met at a number of places including Annandale and “Broadwater’s Gate near Fairfax County Courthouse.”
The searcher of Washington and area history always loves to come across reports by “The Rambler” in the Evening Star. Harry Shannon had the desk from 1912 to 1927. George Kennedy then took it over. In 1959, he wrote about the Hampton Hounds (“The Rambler Learns of Happy Hunting Ground”).
Turns out he had lived at ParkFairfax for 13 years, but had never bothered to look into past stories of that area. Kennedy had heard some graybeards say there had been a hunting lodge at what is now the North Fairlington neighborhood.
Then he came across “an excellent picture of the Hampton Hounds” that was taken about 1905 with Courtland Smith II. His source was Templeman’s book.
The Rambler then sat down with Courtland Hawkins Smith III (1900-1968). He was the son of Smith Jr. and was married to Nancy Jackson. After living in Alexandria, the family moved to the Mount Vernon area.
He told The Rambler:
“I was born in the big house my grandfather built at St Asaph and Wolfe (519 Wolfe, as mentioned).They used to chase the fox through the Four Mile Run, the Taylor Run, and Cameron Run valleys.
There was a huge barn with stables about at the corner of S. Thirty-First Street and the Leesburg Pike where a gasoline station now stands.There was also a racetrack on the property along the pike.My father went in for thoroughbreds as well as hunters.The track was a private training track.
About the time I was born, the members of the Chevy Chase club had to decide whether it was to be a hunt club or a golf club.Golf won and the Chevy Chase Hounds were sent across the river and joined my father’s Hampton Hounds to form the Cameron Run Hunt Club. By 1908, he must have felt encroached upon because he moved to the horse country near Middleburg.”
Before Courtland Hawkins Smith Jr. left for Middleburg, he had also made quite a name for himself as a horseman and organizer of the Cameron Run Hunt Club. An article in The Washington Post (“Cameron Run Hunt Exhibit,” May 12, 1904), reported on the second annual exhibition of the Cameron Run Hunt Club.
It was “one of the greatest exhibits of hunters and jumpers ever seen in the South.” Guests came from Washington, Baltimore, and Norfolk and there was “Splendid Riding of Horsewomen.”
The club also held an annual ball at McBurney’s Hall at the southwest corner of King and Washington in Alexandria. Smith and Miller (“A Seaport Saga”) tell us George McBurney owned the handsome three-story structure built in 1879 (demolished late 1950s). The Hall on the second floor held “many fashionable dances and festivities.”
In 1905, the club’s ball was attended by persons from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. The Washington Times described it as “the social event of the season in Alexandria.” Favors were horns, jockey caps, picture hats, whips, and fans.
Reports on the Cameron Run Hunt Club end at 1907. Smith Jr. moved to Middleburg in 1908 and served as mayor. He won the Warrenton Gold Cup, a major steeplechase event, five times.
All the infrastructure for the Hampton Hounds and the mansion home were demolished in the 1940s for the Fairlington neighborhood.
Part Four
Fort Belvoir Hunt, 1935 to 1945
In Part Five we will cover the Fairfax Hunt, which formed in 1929. Let’s first, however, look at the Fort Belvoir Hunt.
The Fort Belvoir Hunt was established in 1935. The installation had been founded in 1917 on the neck of land that holds the ruins of Belvoir, which was the Fairfax home from 1736 to 1773. By then (1773), Colonel William Fairfax had passed away, Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax had moved to Greenway Court, and George William Fairfax had sailed back to England. Leading up to the war with the British and his appointment as commander of the Continental Army, George Washington continued to fox hunt until February, 1775.
Stewart tells us the Fort Belvoir Hunt was “the only organized military hunt ever to exist in the area surrounding Washington.” History buffs must have been excited, knowing that was where Washington and the Fairfax’s had saddled up.
The Washington Post wrote about the club. Major Alexander McNabb and Captain Homer Pettit organized it. Assistant Secretary of War and Mrs. Harry H. Woodring hosted members of the club at Woodlawn. The couple rented Woodlawn for two years as their home. Woodlawn was the former home of Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lewis (1779-1852) and her husband Lawrence Lewis (1767-1839). It was the first property acquired by the National Historic Trust.
Sometimes the hunt started out at Washington’s Grist Mill and ended at Woodlawn. For Thanksgiving, the Woodrings hosted members of the club.
The Evening Star offered coverage (“Fort Belvoir Hunt Season Under Way,” October 27, 1935). The club had seven couples of hounds.
In 1936, the Fort Belvoir Hunt opened the season in early November at MacKenzie Hall and “followed a course over the pasture area and the country back of Accotink.” Major Alexander MacNabb and Captain Homer Pettit served as Joint Masters. “A large number from the post participated and Mr. Wall and Mr. Peter Ross came from Alexandria.”
Country Life and the Sportsman (Volume 74, 1938), offers a short bio of the club. Master of Foxhounds for 1936 was Major McNabb and in 1937 Lt. Colonel Creswell Garlington. Foxhounds numbered 11 couples, English, American, and crossbred. The drag hunting season was October 15 to April 1. Strangers and visitors were permitted to hunt with the permission of the MFH. Recommended accommodations were the Penn Daw Hotel and George Mason Hotel in Alexandria. The territory was about 20 square miles.
In 1937, the Fort Belvoir Hunt held their outing on Christmas Day. The Star noted their territory included where Lord Fairfax lived.
The Fort Belvoir Hunt lasted until 1945.
Part Five:
The Fairfax Hunt
In 1928, a new chapter of fox hunting in Fairfax County began to unfold when A. Smith Bowman (1868-1952), a native of Kentucky, arrived in northern Virginia. He acquired 4,000 acres of rural land about 20 miles west of Washington, where Reston lies today.
Starting in 1934, Bowman and his two sons owned and ran the Bowman Distillery. Their brands included Virginia Gentleman and Fairfax County.
In 1928, Bowman founded the Fairfax Hunt Club on his farm, Sunset Hills. The original members numbered 18. They included Bowman’s two sons - Bowman Jr. and E. Delong; Roland Dawson (formerly of the Riding and Hunt Club of Washington); four women - Nancy P. Hanna, Anna F. Hedrick, Margo Couzens Bryant, and Mrs. Arthur A. Snyder; and two members of the Armed Forces — Colonel H.W.T. Eglin and Major Hobart H. Hawkins.
The club was recognized by the Masters of Foxhounds Association in 1933. At that time, there were a number of nationally recognized hunt clubs in central and northern Virginia. The Piedmont Hounds (1840-1971), was the oldest private club in the US. As mentioned, two of their former Masters of Fox Hunts were giants, Colonel Richard Dulany and Harry Worcester Smith.
The Warrenton Hunt, registered with the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association in 1887, traces back to 1816. In her research, Stewart was told by Mrs. Mary Scott Carter that the first record of hounds in kennel were those of Colonel Winter Payne, at Clifton, near Warrenton, in 1790.
Others included Deep Run Hunt, 1887, Richmond; Blue Ridge Hunt, 1888, Boyce, Clarke County; Loudoun Hunt, 1894-1971, Leesburg; Keswick Hunt, 1896, Charlottesville; Orange County, 1903, the Plains; Middleburg Hunt, 1906; Casanova Hunt, 1909-197; and Bull Run Hunt, 1911, Manassas.
Bowman served as the first Master of Fox Hounds and his son A. Smith Bowman Jr. was an original member. His other son, DeLong Bowman, served as MFH from 1933-1937.
Given there were these other long-established hunts in the adjacent counties, and that the country was in an economic depression, perhaps Bowman wondered if the new Fairfax Hunt would be a success.
No problem. In an article (“Chasing History: Point to Point Racing with the Fairfax Hunt”) in Virginia Sportsman magazine (December, 2011), E.J. Felker wrote that in its first four decades:
“Members enjoyed excellent hunting across Fairfax County. But the hunt has always been more than just a sporting club. Dignitaries, diplomats, and military leaders were drawn from Washington, DC, not just to the excellent hunting territory, but the social nature of the club.”
First Hunt
On November 13, 1929, club members set out for the first time from the Bowman home. The Bowmans would build their own home in 1941 (photo by author, 11718 Bowman Green Drive, Reston), but for the first dozen or so years, they lived at the former mansion home of Dr. Max Wiehle (also still standing, currently the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association at 1850 Old Reston Avenue).
The Washington Times headline said: “First Fairfax Hunt is Success.”
Joining the chase were nine Masters of Foxhunts from other hunt clubs.
In his brief history, Opstad writes:
On that day, the field took off not less than 100 strong. At least nine MFH’s from other hunts were present. Later in the day a lavish hunt breakfast was held at the Bowman home attended by some 300 guests.
Original Hunt Territory
Opstad provides a map that shows the original territory. The eastern border ran through Falls Church and Fairfax Station down to Manassas. The western border ran through Herndon and Dranesville. The Potomac formed the northern border. (Image: Opstad, Donald P. The History of the Fairfax Hunt).
Places Held
Until 1951 when the club built its first clubhouse, the hunts started at a number of places. In the 1930s, the traditional opening meet was sometimes held at the Fairfax County Courthouse green.
Another early location was the Aesculpian Hotel. Alexandra Campbell talks about it in her presentation (“Before 1964: The History of Reston's Predecessors”). Dr. Wiehle built the hotel just north of his mansion in the 1890s as a summer resort with 35 rooms. The structure was damaged by fire and demolished in 1956. Its site is the Stratford House apartment building (11776 Stratford House Pl, Reston.)
Spring Glade
A favorite place for the Fairfax Hunt was Spring Glade. Built in 1840, the dwelling stands just north of Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts. (Photo by author).
In the 1940s and into the 50s, Lisle A. Smith, a retired counsel for the Department of Agriculture, and his wife Neitah, hosted not only the club, but also Washingtonians and other visitors in the area.
Nick Anderson of The Washington Post summed it up in a piece titled: “Home of Mr and Mrs Smith Steeped in History, Hospitality, Fairfax’s Favorite Hostess.”
The quality of hospitality of Spring Glade is genuine and flawless, and like a magic talisman, it seems to draw people from everywhere. Four hundred may turn up to witness the opening of the Fairfax Hunt, but twice that number will drop in during the year for grass roots entertainment, a visit, a drink, or a simple and excellent dinner.
Among the guests were President Truman and First Lady Bess. The farm house and oak tree stand today as a reminder of those hunt days.
Belmont Manor
The club was also hosted at Belmont Manor by Patrick J. Hurley (1881-1963). He served as Secretary of War (1929-1933) under President Hoover and as a Major General during World War II, and as a personal envoy to China in 1944. The Hurley’s owned and lived at Belmont Manor from 1932 to 1964.
This one was perhaps a favorite for club members, as it stands on some of the highest ground in that part of Loudoun County and the brick house (built 1790) is historic. Now a clubhouse for the golf course there, one of its hosting areas is named The Fairfax Hunt Room.
Distinguished Members
Although no one had a clue to just how famous she would become, the Fairfax Hunt welcomed Jackie Kennedy in March, 1954. Dorothy McCardle of The Washington Post filed the report (“Tally Ho, Senator Kennedy”).
“Jack Kennedy’s bride took off with the Fairfax Hunt from Southdown Farm, owned by the Keith Merrill near Forestville.”
The two had been married only six months and were living at Hickory Hill in Langley. The future First Lady, who began riding at age five, might have hunted with the Fairfax Hunt during other times that were not reported on. Southdown is about eight miles west of Hickory Hill.
A Post report filed in Dec 1965, noted she rode “Another Voyage” (Winchester) in the Fairfax Hunt. It was owned by Mrs. J. L. Lloyd of Oakton.
Randy Rouse (1916-2017)
One of the most distinguished members of the Fairfax Hunt Club, and arguably the most famous was Randolph (Randy) Rouse (1916-2017). He joined in the late 1940s. As noted by the Chronicle of the Horse, his participation in the Fairfax Hunt piqued his interest in hunting and jump racing. Rouse was a veteran of World War II. He would go on to become a national steeplechase icon and served as a Master of Foxhounds for the Fairfax Hunt for 55 years. He helped launch and lead the Fairfax Races, a steeplechase event.
Rouse was only the 26th person selected for the F. Ambrose Clark Award, the National Steeplechase Association’s highest honor. Rouse became the oldest trainer to win a Thoroughbred race in North America. He built the steeplechase course for the Fairfax Hunt at Belmont.
Before divorcing, Rouse was married in 1956 to Audrey Meadows (1922-1996), who earned fame as Jackie Gleason’s co-star in The Honeymooners and a four time Emmy winner. The couple lived in Arlington at what became known as the Febrey-Lothrop House. It was built before the Civil War. The Arlington Historical Society wrote the manor home and grounds was “a proud, historically significant, Arlington landmark.” Arlington Magazine said it was “a rare piece of local history,” and a 2009 architectural traceries report stated, “the property is recommended eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.” Sadly, it was recently demolished.
Rouse donated the Middleburg Training Track, which he owned starting in 2006. He passed away in 2017 at age 100.
Anna F. Hedrick (1900-1993)
In 1989, Anna F. Hedrick sat down with The Washington Post (“Miss Anna Purses Her Independence, The Law and the Fox,” Maria Kokanaris, November 16, 1989). A graduate of Arlington High School, she studied physics and English at Vassar, passed the Virginia bar exam in 1930, and practiced law for almost 60 years in Leesburg, Hillsboro, and Taylorstown.
Hedrick said her first fox hunt was in 1921 with the Washington-based Rock Creek Hounds. She then joined the Fairfax Hunt in 1928 and became a Joint Master for them after World War II. She was quoted as saying, “Foxhunting has been my love.”
Albert Ollie Poe (1931-2019)
Albert Ollie Poe was the younger brother of Melvin Poe. In addition to serving as the Master of Foxhounds for the Piedmont Foxhounds, the Fairfax Hunt (1975-1980), and the Middleburg Hunt, he stood out as a foxhound breeder and race horse trainer.
Born in Hume, Virginia, he was considered by the Museum of Hounds and Hunting as the best breeder of American Foxhounds of the 20th century. He joined the Fairfax Hut in 1975 and improved their pack of hounds. Poe was inducted into the Museum of Hounds & Hunting’s Honored Huntsmen Hall of Fame.
Opstad served as President and Board of Governors of the club. In 1972, he wrote a booklet titled, “The History of the Fairfax Hunt, 1929-1972.” This treasure trove includes photos and maps of the hunt territory. Opstad served as Vice President for government relations of the 3-M Company and lived in Great Falls.
Image: Author's copy of Opstad's book.
Joseph Keusch
A native of Switzerland, Keusch served as Joint Master of the Fairfax Hunt from 1997 to 2009. He competed and served as Chief Trainer in Europe and the US, and served as a Chief Trainer. He also trained at Paper Chase Farms in Middleburg, founded by his wife Jan Neuharth. She is an attorney, novelist, and the director of the Freedom Forum.
Balls
In addition to their outings, the Fairfax Hunt held an annual ball in Washington. Trailblazing columnist Nina Carter Tabb covered one in February, 1938. About 150 guests sat down at the Hotel Carlton for afternoon that included music, dancing, and singing old hunting songs. Mr. George C. Benoit of Fredericksburg entertained. (Note: The Hotel Carlton, a Beaux-Arts landmark at 16th and K NW, was renamed The St. Regis in 1999).
Junior Hunt
The club also molded young minds and bodies by having a Junior Hunt, ages 10-20. At one point, a Miss Kathy Kusner served as a Joint MFH. The Fairfax Junior Hunt would grow to more than 100 members. June Eaton (Mrs. James O. Pease) provided leadership for the annual horse shows that were popular and garnered national attention.
New Hunt Club
In 1951, the Bowmans filled the void of not having a clubhouse. From their farm near Leesburg Pike they donated ten acres of their land. With the help of Randy Rouse, a clubhouse was built using a log house taken from Vienna. Now vacant, the structure stands adjacent to Lake Fairfax Park, a rare remnant of fox hunting in the county (Photo by author.)
In 1958, the Bowman brothers created a new steeplechase course there. In a special for the Evening Star, Robert B. Philips covered the story. It was Virginia’s first new steeplechase course in 25 years. It honored Bowman, who had passed away in 1952. Profits went to the new Fairfax Hospital.
The Territory Shifts West
Coming just five years after launch of Sputnik 1 and the start of the Space Age, Dulles Airport opened in 1962. The population of the county leapt from 275,000 in 1960 to 455,000 in 1970. This signaled the beginning of the end of fox hunts in Fairfax County.
A last hurrah of sorts took place in October, 1969. As reported by the Evening Star (“Fairfax Hunt Returns After 180 Years,” Toni House), Gunston Hall hosted a ceremonial event. The rector of Pohick Church was on hand for the traditional blessing of the dogs.
Another map (1972) in Opstad’s “The History of the Fairfax Hunt” shows the club’s territory no longer in the county. They moved to west and north of the airport to parts of eastern Loudoun County. Communities such as Brambleton lie there today. Although they were no longer in Fairfax County, the club kept its name until 2013.
An article in The Washington Post ("Fox Hunting Day in Fairfax County," December 26, 1976) noted the club hunted that day at Lenah. A photo showed Albert Poe and one of the whippers-in, who “keeps the hounds in line and an eye out for the fox.” Lenah is located about two miles west of Brambleton in Loudoun County.
Making the move to Loudoun County was not easy. The Virginia Sportsman article points out that “a lesser club, with lesser leadership, would have folded under these conditions.”
With Rouse at the helm and other members, the hunts were moved from places like Belmont. It was there the club held a 50th anniversary in December, 1979. Maryon Allen (The Washington Post, December 2, 1979) covered the Thanksgiving event. Dr. John Sanders was the President and 70 members attended.
After the traditional blessing of the hounds, Albert Poe gave the signal and the horn did its duties, off they were. The whips were Jackie Forsman, T. Barnes, and Jack Crippen. Pat Rogers was field secretary.
Fire at the Kennels (2009)
The Fairfax Hunt had moved their kennels to what is now Stone School Lane, about a mile from the western edge of Brambleton and four miles southeast of Oatlands. Devastating news hit in March, 2009. As reported by the Loudoun-Times-Mirror, an early morning fire at the kennels killed three horses and 16 hounds. Kevin Palmer, the huntsman who lived close by, rescued about 55.
Merger (2013)
In 2013, the Fairfax Hunt merged with the West Loudoun Hunt to form the Loudoun Fairfax Hunt. They meet and hunt mostly near Hamilton. Like many other hunt clubs, they have a chase only policy.
Donna Rogers is one of their Masters of Fox Hounds. She was featured in an article by Norman Fine in FoxHuntingLife. Of the merger, she said: “We now have twice the country and twice the membership at one-half the cost. It was a no-brainer.”
With the merger, perhaps there were a few eyebrows raised.
Then again, the roots of fox hunting run deep in Fairfax County...
Sources
Bradley, A.G. Wolfe and Washington as Sportsmen. The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes.
Custis, George Washington Parke. Recollections and private memoirs of Washington.
Fairfax County, Virginia, A History.
Fine, Norman, Foxhunting in North America. FoxHunting Life.
Founders Online.
Howry, Edward F. Foxhunting in Fairfax County. Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County. 1952-1953.
Moon, Vicky. The Middleburg Mystique.
Opstad, Donald P. The History of the Fairfax Hunt. 1972.
Slater, Kitty. The Hunt Country of America Then and Now, 4th ed. Upperville, Virginia: Virginia Reel, Inc., 1997
Smith, Alexander MacKay. Foxhunting in North America. Millwood, Virginia: The American Foxhound Club, 1985.
Smucker, Philip. Riding with George: Sportsmanship & Chivalry in the Making of America's First President.
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