Lake Barcroft's Gold Mine: Was there gold in "them thar hills"?

 

By Tony Bracken

Barcroft News Staff

 

In 1950, a young couple purchased a lot from Colonel Barger on Tollgate Terrace for $4,800. She came from Pennsylvania and he from Rumania. They met while studying at the University of Bucharest. One day, they took a ride on Columbia Pike from their apartment in Arlington and spotted a sign, "Lots for Sale." Barger opened for business on that very day. One look at the lake and Sylvia Cazan decided that this would be where she and her husband, Matthew, would live.

              The Cazans often visited their lot and walked through the woods on gravel paths and roads. As Lakeview Drive extended bit by bit to the west from what is now Aqua Terrace, the couple came across a more desirable lot on the corner of Lakeview Dr. and Dockser Terrace. Barger agreed to a trade-up and the Cazans paid the difference for the total price of $7,400. Little did they know that they were literally buying a gold mine.

              Like most young couples, the Cazans worked hard to pay off the lot. It seems that Colonel Barger had made a deal with the banks to refuse home building loans until lots were free and clear. Barger did not want to be left holding the bag.

              The Cazan lot was a forest of pine trees. Matthew took on the job of clearing the land himself. Sylvia, pregnant at the time, would sit on a stump and watch Matthew's efforts. One day a snake slithered by right where she was sitting. Indeed, at the time Lake Barcroft was a wilderness.

              But on the big day, Sylvia was walking on the property and stepped on some brush and leaves. Her foot went right through the ground cover and down she went into a large hole in the ground. She screamed, and Matthew came running to her rescue. Sylvia was in over her head, but Matt was able to reach down, grasp her hands and pull her out of the hole. She suffered no ill effects except for a scare.

              Further inspection revealed a set of old, decayed wooden steps leading into the pit. At the bottom the Cazans found some buckets and implements indicating that this had been a mine of some sort. The mystery of who could have dug the pit and for what purpose has never been answered, but the speculation is that it had been a gold mine. The hole was filled, and Lake Barcroft's only gold mine was gone forever.

Ignoring the possible fortune in their backyard, Matthew went on teach at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and then served 42 years with the FBI fighting communism. Sylvia had a successful career in real estate. She was also the second president of the Woman's Club. Together, they received numerous citations for having the best landscaping and garden during the annual competitions held by the homeowner's association. While the years have taken a toll, Matthew continues his gardening and maintains "Cazan Corner" neat as a pin.