A New Venue

A New Venue

In 1902 a core group of Hawthorn Golf Club members, perhaps emboldened by the affluence of the whaling industry and the inception of the Industrial Age, initiated a search for a location to establish a new golf course for the city of New Bedford.

Dr. John T. Bullard, William C. Hawes, Frederick T. Stetson, Edward T. Pierce, Clarence A. Cook and Edward S. Brown, the original subscribers, reimbursed themselves $6.25 for a rented car and found what they were looking for in the adjacent town of Dartmouth. *5 

The Sunday Boston Herald dated March 15,1903 reads as follows:

"The Country Club may be said to have come about as a result of the success the Hawthorn Club has enjoyed since it's organization. About five years ago a few gentlemen started golf links on the Hawthorn farm. The Hawthorn Golf Club was formed shortly after and soon became a prosperous organization. It has constantly grown in membership until last year. Its rolls carried some 300 names.

While the golf course was kept in excellent condition, it was rather short and on that account in the summer it was very apt to be crowded. For the past two years many of the persons interested in the club have been desirous of securing a place where they could enjoy not only golf links of adequate dimensions, but ample space for all other outdoor recreations.

The exact place came into view through the ill-success of of another sporting venture. A number of horse fanciers purchased a few seasons ago the Brownell farm in North Dartmouth, intending to lay out on it a trotting track. But the scheme fell through and those who held the property were quite ready to sell to the golf club. No sooner was the proposition breached than it went through with a rush and the property was secured."

The eighty six acres purchased in this transaction provided more than adequate space for a new nine hole golf course. It also had a much more varied terrain making the new links course longer, more interesting and more challenging to play. In addition, the newly acquired property had room for other sporting activities not previously associated with the Hawthorn Golf Club. 

Locating the Country Club of New Bedford in Dartmouth, rather than within the city limits, allowed for New Bedford’s growth and expansion without encroaching on the new facility. Even in its new location, the New Bedford Country Club remained accessible by horse, bicycle or horse and buggy.