It is impossible to imagine today that Upland Boro once had a Fox Hunting Club. The above picture is from about 1908 the location is unknown. Started by mill and business owners like the Crozer Family the club closed c.1930 due to the Great Depression.
Note: When you think of Fox Hunting Clubs in Delco you think of places like Radnor and Rose Tree NOT Upland Boro. But for some 30 years Upland had it's own. Below is the start of the club from 1901
Friends Entertained at the famous West House on the Bridgewater Road, Now the sumptuous Home of the Gentleman’s Organization – All the Appurtenances of a Country Club
The
Upland Fox Hunting Club yesterday opened their splendidly appointed club house
with a formal reception given by the house committee to the members and their
friends. The club house is situated on
the old West farm, and has stood on the outskirts of Upland Borough for more
than two hundred years. It is in a most
delightfully picturesque spot and during the fall and winter will be the scene
of many happy gatherings of the sportsmen throughout this and adjacent
counties.
The
house and its surroundings have recently been improved and it was the
completion of these changes which were announced in the event yesterday. From 4 to 6 o’clock in the evening the
members and their friends to the number of perhaps fifty, wended their way to
the hunt club’s domicile and after being shown through the structure were
served with tea under the direction of Caterer Morrison of Chester.
The
house committee acted in the capacity of receivers and included in the number
were: Victor J. Petry, Robert H. Page, Edward
Crozer, Harry E. Wilson and the following officers ex-officio: President, John P. Crozer, Louis R. Page,
vice president and treasurer. Harry E.
Wilson is secretary.
THE
CLUB HOUSE – The old West farm was purchased some months ago, the sale being consummated
by Edward Crozer, who has been one of the leading spirits in the movement to
form the Upland Fox Hunting Club. The
steps toward this were taken soon after the improvements were begun and the
charter was accordingly secured. In
making the changes it has been the aim of Mr. Crozer, Mr. Wilson and their
advisors to retain as far as possible the antiquated appearance of the
building. The visitor to the premises
sees the old beams and girders, the ancient stairways, the old closets, the
solid oaken floor timbers and everything connected with a house built in the
seventeenth century, preserved, yet so brightened that the effect is very
beautiful.
The
house has been furnished with tables and chairs in keeping with the surrounding
appearances, and altogether the Upland Hunt Club, with its ideal grounds, is
one of the best equipped in the country.
There is a lounging room or the members and their associates; there is a
spacious dining room, with a large round table in the center; a kitchen with an
old log fireplace and a massive stone hearth.
On
the second floor the various rooms are furnished with enameled individual
bedsteads, so that members coming in from a ride through the country or belated
on the road at night, may come in and spend the time there and find all the
comforts of home.
One
of the apartments is to be fitted up with a modern bath room, with shower
baths, and is to be supplied with city water.
The secretary of the club has his room finely furnished with roll top
desk and all the appointments of a high-class office. In nearly all the rooms there remain the old
fireplaces intact.
SOME
UNWRITTEN HISTORY – One place on the first floor is an object of interest, and
there is connected with it something uncanny.
Just what it was built for is not known.
To the side of the fireplace in the apartment which is to be used for
the lounging room there is a close-like aperture the entrance to which is the
width only of a foot plant inside, the place is large enough for one person to
sit comfortable. Built therein is a
seat. It is believed that this was for
the purpose of hiding slaves.
The
door was placed so that it could not be seen from inside the room it being even
with the wall. For years this was
covered with the paper which was upon the wall, and would not have been known
to the new owners had it not been pointed out.
This is preserved, the original door still hanging.
The
grounds about the house and the buildings have been greatly improved. Mr. Crozer said yesterday to a Times
man: “This was a discouraging looking
place when we got hold of it, but we have made many changes. There is still much to be done. We shall lay out a number of gold links and
have places for other interesting amusements.”
TYPICAL
COUNTRY CLUB – Mr. Wilson said: “We
shall make this a typical country club for one is needed more than anything
else for Chester and its environs. We
shall have someone here at all times in charge and our members can come here
and get anything they want to eat. One
improvement contemplated is a road out from the kennels direct to the main
highway.”
The
kennels are another point which was a great attraction to the visitors
yesterday. These are in charge of an
experienced man, who is known as the huntsman.
He is Marshall Altemus, formerly of the Radnor Hunt, and a fine keeper
he is. Not only yesterday was everything
in cleanly and splendid shape, but every day, and at all times, the kennels are
in such excellent condition. These
houses of the hounds are built on the most approved plans so that the sleeping
apartment of the dogs can be kept clean easily.
THE
FOX HOUNDS – The hounds themselves are high bred American animals. “The English hounds,” said Secretary Wilson
yesterday, “are not as popular as the American, therefore, we have confined our
ideas to the latter. They are by far the
keener. We have but two English dogs in
the twenty-five or more of the whole lot.”
The kennels are situated in a most delightfully shaded portion of the
grounds, the whole of which comprise 119 acres.
The
old barn has also received attention from the hands of the carpenters. A large number of fine box stalls have been
built while other stalls have been erected so that more than seventy-five head
can be accommodated at one time. At the present
season of the year the horses are let out to pasture on the hunt club
fields. There are a large number of
them, which are very valuable not only from the point of view of breeding, but
as hunters.
AN
ANTHROPOLOGICAL FIND – While some of the repairs were being made to the porch
recently there was unearthed a mummified cat.
The skin of the cat is preserved and is like a drum head. But the outlines of the head, feet and tail
are intact. It is believed that the
condition of the earth is responsible for the preservation. The animal is placed away in the secret
closet and is shown only to the friends of the club.
At
the present time there are about thirty members active, contributing and
non-resident. The active membership is
limited to 25, and of this number there are present 18.
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment