From “Honey Pot” to Cheshire Country Club: A Mid-Century Legacy
- Richard Smith
- Feb 22
- 4 min read
For decades, 290 Country Club Road in Cheshire, Connecticut, was synonymous with sport, leisure, and community life. Known first as the Honey Pot Country Club and later as the Cheshire Country Club, the course evolved from a 1930s local enterprise into a respected mid-century golf destination before ultimately giving way to residential development. Its story is deeply intertwined with one of the region’s oldest landholding families—the Atwater's—and reflects broader changes in land use and suburban growth in Connecticut.
The Atwater Foundation: Land and Lineage
The land on which the course was built was part of the vast holdings of the Atwater family, one of the
earliest and most significant landowning families in the Cheshire and Wallingford area. Their presence dates back to the 17th-century New Haven Colony, descending from original settler David Atwater.
By the early 20th century, local tradition claimed that every house for two miles along what is now State Street (formerly Fleet Street) toward New Haven was owned and occupied by members of the family—an area informally known as the “Atwater Corridor.”
The family’s agricultural operations were extensive. Their lands were used for tillage, pasturage, and salt meadows. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Atwater farms functioned as livestock “depots,” where horses and cattle were gathered before shipment—often on vessels owned by members of the family.
Notable Atwater properties included:
The Honey Pot Grounds – A 35-acre portion leased in 1929 for the golf course.
George Atwater House (2158 Whitney Avenue, North Haven) – Built circa 1820; the family retained large holdings there until 1933.
The Homestead in Wallingford (1774) – Later the site of Rosemary Farm, where Mary Lyman Atwater founded Rosemary Hall in 1890 (now Choate Rosemary Hall).
The Honey Pot Country Club itself began on land leased from George E. Atwater, a Cheshire resident and descendant of the founding family.
1929: The Birth of the Honey Pot
The club was formally incorporated in 1929, leasing 35 acres along what was then known as Town Farm Road.
A 1929 Record Journal article announced:
By the time golfers are ready for the 1930 season, there will be a new golf course in Cheshire called the Honey Pot. Located near the famed trout stream down the road from Bishop Farms, the course is laid out on beautiful rolling land on the estate of George Atwater. It will be an 18-hole course when completed. Nine holes are already finished, greens seeded and fairways cleared. A clubhouse will be constructed early in the spring.
The terrain—rolling, open, and scenic—was ideal for golf and marked the beginning of Cheshire’s golfing era.
1930: The Red Clubhouse and the Stone Lions
In 1930, the club purchased an adjacent 1790s-era Federal-style house to serve as its permanent clubhouse. Painted a distinctive deep red and guarded by two stone lions at its entrance, the building became a recognizable local landmark.
In 1935, the official opening of the Honey Pot Country Club was celebrated with a Memorial Day dance attended by approximately 175 members and friends. A handicap tournament followed the next day, signaling that the Honey Pot was both a social and sporting destination.
The red clubhouse still stands today at 290 Country Club Road as a private residence.
Post-War Growth and Professionalization (1947–1951)
Following World War II, the course entered a period of renewed energy.
1947 – Willard Atwater was hired as professional at the Cheshire Golf Course (formerly the Honey Pot) and reportedly brought the course into “tip-top condition.”
1950 – The Cheshire Golf Course was sold to Fred DeLeon and Albert Victor for $40,000, including the clubhouse and facilities. This marked a transition to more structured professional management.
1951 – Over 150 spectators attended an exhibition by Jimmy Nichols, the famed one-armed professional golfer. Nichols conducted a clinic demonstrating irons and woods before playing an 18-hole match. Teaming with Cheshire Academy athletics coach Cable Starlings, Nichols defeated Howard Peck (club pro) and Waterbury amateur Stephen O’Brien.
These events cemented the club’s reputation as a serious regional venue capable of attracting notable talent.
The 1950s Golden Era: “Suicide Alley”
By the 1950s, the course—now commonly referred to as the Cheshire Country Club—had developed a reputation for its unique and challenging layout.
Its most infamous feature was known as “Suicide Alley,” where the 3rd, 4th, and 5th holes shared a single corridor of fairway. Golfers navigated a literal crossfire of shots, demanding exceptional awareness and communication. It was unconventional and occasionally chaotic, but it fostered camaraderie and became part of the course’s enduring folklore.
The club operated with a membership-run model in its early years, with the board of directors overseeing operations before hiring dedicated professionals during the post-war boom. While members of the Atwater family remained landowners, they were not known to have served as PGA professionals at the club.
1959: The Jaycee Junior Tournament
One of the most significant competitive events in the club’s history occurred in 1959, when it hosted the Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament.
The tournament drew top young players from across the region and was widely attended by local residents. That year, Ron Butler , Jaycee President organized Cheshire's finest talent to go on to the national tournement.
Junior competitors faced the full challenge of the course—including the notorious “Suicide Alley”—making victory at Cheshire a meaningful achievement for aspiring golfers.
The Final Rounds: 1970s Closure and Transformation
Though the club remained active through the 1960s, shifting land economics and suburban expansion altered its future.
The Honey Pot name had largely faded from official use by 1940, though it persisted in local memory.
The course officially ceased operations in 1972.
In 1974, construction began on the Ives Hill Condominiums.
The development was designed to follow the natural contours of the former course, which is why Ives Hill still retains the rolling slopes characteristic of a classic New England fairway.
Legacy of the Land
Though the fairways disappeared, the legacy of the Honey Pot and Cheshire Country Club endures.
The red 1790s clubhouse at 290 Country Club Road remains standing as a private home.
The Honeypot Disc Golf Course at Cheshire Park carries forward the original name, replacing irons and woods with discs but preserving the appreciation for Cheshire’s rolling terrain.
Stories of “Suicide Alley,” post-game dances, junior tournaments, and exhibitions remain part of local lore.
From its agricultural beginnings under the Atwater family to its mid-century heyday as a social and sporting hub, the Honey Pot Country Club reflects a broader story of Connecticut land—how it evolves, adapts, and yet quietly retains the memory of what once stood there.
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