Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Quannapowitt Yacht Club, Linda Road, circa 1948

Description

"The first mention of a Quannapowitt Yacht Club appeared in a news article in April 1895, which stated that a group of men gathered at the home of Will H. Wiley to organize the club, elect officers, and adopt a constitution. Its purpose 'shall be the promotion of rowing, canoeing, and sailing and the encouragement of sociability among its members.' Anticipating great interest in the club, membership was offered at a fee of $2.00 and was limited to 100 people. Little mention is made of the yacht club from the early 1900s to 1912 when another reorganization meeting was held, again at Mr. Wiley's home. With a fee of $5.00 and no annual dues for the first year, the Quannapowitt Yacht Club revised the former yacht club constitution and bylaws on May 17, 1912. The club had three classes of boats with a cup awarded in each class after a seven-race series. Interest in sailing on Lake Quannapowitt fluctuated during the next two decades, with renewed interest in 1931, and again in 1936. On April 26, 1936, a reorganization meeting was held at Hill's Boathouse and a charter was written, modeled after the Boston Yacht Club charter. The club's red, white and blue triangular shaped pennant was adopted in 1938. In 1940, a new charter was written and the Quannapowitt Yacht Club was incorporated. Although plans for a permanent home for the club were initiated in 1942, it wasn't until spring 1947 that club members towed their floats from Hill's Boathouse to a site 'near the old Boston Ice Houses,' on property owned by club member Wendell Vidito. The club subsequently purchased the 9000 sq. ft. property on Linda Road for the sum of $1100 and a 12' x 20' club house was built near the beach. It was built so that it could be moved or added to in future years. On Memorial Day, 1948, after the members dug the foundation by hand, the clubhouse was moved to a concrete foundation on a hill. Additional land was purchased in 1953, and in 1961 the present clubhouse was built, with a porch added in 1971." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'On

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2004

Photo courtesy of the Quannapowitt Yacht Club.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Quannapowitt, Lake (Mass.)

Date

ca. 1948

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Quannapowitt Yacht Club (Wakefield, Mass.)

Yacht clubs

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

16 x 34 cm.