The country’s first black country club is getting a makeover

The first black-owned and operated country club within the United States is being restored due to a $75,000 grant.

Shady Rest Country Club in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, the nation’s first and oldest Black-owned country club, is one in every of 30 facilities chosen to receive a $3 million grant to preserve its significance in Black history. In July, NPR reported that the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program throughout the National Trust for Historic Preservation, given $75,000 to the country club to support its renovation efforts.

Originally inbuilt the mid-18th century as a farmhouse, the constructing was later converted into a tavern and eventually became the Westfield Country Club. In 1921, a group of black investors under the Progressive Realty Company Inc. purchased the property. It transformed him into Shady Rest Golf Clubcreating a haven for sports and recreation for black Americans at a time when racial segregation was the norm.

The funds will support the Preserve Shady Rest Committee, which has been working to revive the country club for the reason that group’s founding in 2013.

“It’s history. Plain and simple. Period. History” – Sylvia Hicks, former chairwoman of the committee, said of the importance of preserving the clubhouse.

Throughout its history, Shady Rest has hosted many sports icons, including John Shippen Jr., the nation’s first skilled Black golfer, and Althea Gibson, a groundbreaking Grand Slam-winning tennis player who was the first Black woman to interrupt the colour barrier in international tennis competition. Shady Rest’s influence prolonged beyond sports, becoming a vibrant after-hours entertainment destination on the East Coast. After their performances in New York, the musicians performed on the underground nightclub Villa Casanova.

Bobby Mendelson continues the family tradition by usually visiting Shady Rest to play golf together with his 6-year-old son, Leo. This is a pastime he enjoyed together with his father when he was a little boy. Mendelson sees the work that has been done to revive the country club and appears forward to seeing more.

“I think it’s really important to the history of the city and the region,” he said. “Not to mention civil rights in this case, and I think it makes us proud of this area. And honestly, it’s really nice. It’s important to remember these kinds of important things and feel good about them.”

Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, notes the large need for preservation funds. The motion fund have to be highly selective. Since 2018, it has invested $27 million in support of 304 cultural heritage sites.

“Since the call for proposals, the Equity Fund’s national grant program has received 6,169 applications for funding worth $709 million,” Leggs said.

This yr’s grant recipients represent diverse regions, places and histories, from California to Georgia and from Minnesota to Texas.

“We work with external partners, such as the Association of African American Museums and the Hutchins Center at Harvard University, to help us assess competitiveness and select our fellows,” Leggs explained. “We often look for diversity in geography, archetypes and history.”

As for Shady Rest, Tom Donatelli, current chairman of the Shady Rest commission, says the funds will go toward “engineering and architectural” renovations, including on the highest floors of the constructing and Villa Casanova.

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