October 21st, 2008

Have you ever wondered, as you tee off on The Snead, what this beautiful golf course of ours has served as in its former life? Well, its a storied piece a land, let me tell you. If only these greens could talk.


I invite you on this journey back through history as we uncover all the many tales our award-winning course has to tell. We’ll start off in today’s post by covering the years 1700 - 1920s.

Let’s begin at the beginning:


* Prior to 1700s -
This was the favorite hunting ground of Shawnee, Cherokee and Seneca Indians.












* 1740s -
The first explorer to set foot here was John Howard, who discoverd this lush valley while following the Greenbrier River.

* 1784 -
The land was deeded to Michael Bowyer, who started a fledgling health resort that would later become The Greenbrier.

* 1870 -
Throughout the 19th century the area was farmed by the Copeland family, and then the McPherson family. Joel McPherson, who purchased the land in 1870, called his estate “Briarfield.”

* 1920s -
The land was owned by Thornton Lewis, a former railroad executive who was the President of The Greenbrier. He renamed the estate “The Meadows” and operated a large horse farm where horse shows were held annually. President William Howard Taft attended one of those horse shows.






* 1929 -
The Greenbrier purchased the land from Thornton Lewis to create a landing strip.












Stay Tuned for “The Snead’s History (Part II)”….

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