Club

At the end of 1901, William Merritt listed the assets and liabilities of the club as: "One lot at cost, $100. Cost of materials in building and dock, $1,340.37 and $1,385.15. Cost of labor on building and dock at $1.20 per day with interest, $501.18 and $458.40. Cost of personal property bought, $223.64. Balance on hand, $46.91, making total assets $2,212.10. The liabilities were one note for $800 and one for $450 and no unpaid bills, making the total liabilities $1,250 [and] showing a difference of $962.10." This amount plus money spent for other purposes was raised from dues, initiation fees, rent, and a series of entertainments. From July 4, 1899 to Labor Day, September 1901, the club held nine entertainments, one fair, and one excursion. All made money, even the "big blowout" which made $48.39 in spite of spending $43.71 and all that they could eat for a brass band plus $32.90 for fireworks .

At the annual meeting on December 27, 1902, Isaac De Groff was elected commodore and H.S. Vermilyea, treasurer. This outwardly prosperous regime lasted until 1904. On December 31, 1904 S.S. Meade was elected commodore, W. Merritt, vice commodore, I.H. Flood, secretary, and J.S.Ackerman, treasurer, a position that he held for five years. The outgoing secretary presented a report showing no balance in the treasury. This report was laid on the table and the new treasurer was asked to procure a book. A committee was appointed with the new treasurer as a member to arrange the accounts of the past few years in the book. The committee's report indicated that, at the end of each of the past years, there were unpaid bills not taken into account. The net effect was that, at the end of 1904, $700 were still owed on the $800 note and there were unpaid bills amounting to $273.92.

One of the largest bills was $62.50 rental for a piano rented from Mr. Roosa. A committee appointed on January 7, 1905 met with Mr. Roosa to determine whether he would sell the piano to the club. He agreed to sell the piano for $100. William Merritt went to Captain F.F. Collyer who agreed to take the club's note for $100, and the piano was bought.

In order to consolidate the various debts, a resolution was passed at a May 30, 1905 special meeting:

Then, on March 17, 1906, the clubhouse burned to the ground. Only the piano was saved. Fortunately, the clubhouse had been insured for $1,750, and William Merritt had insured the personal property for $150. William Merritt used the plans that he had drawn up for the clubhouse to convince the insurance adjuster that the building was worth the full amount of the insurance. The two sums of money were used to pay off the bond holders on July 1, 1906. Finally, after the December 29, 1906 meeting, the bonds were counted and burned. The club ended the year with no debts and no clubhouse.

For a while the club met in the Collyer brothers' boathouse. Then a motion was made at the January 14, 1908 club meeting that the Constantine house be rented for one year so it can be assumed that is where they met until a new clubhouse was built.(From here on the April 1934 "The History of Chelsea Yacht Club" by Frank M. Whitehall is a major source.)

Before this history goes on to the building of a new clubhouse, the bizarre story of part of the club land should be told. On October 27, 1902, Moses W. Collyer and wife and Frank F. Collyer and wife conveyed to George W. Hunt, Stephen M. Glass, John Mullahy, Moses W. Collyer, and Frank F. Collyer, a parcel of land lying to north of the club property. One of the conditions of the deed was that, at any time the Carthage Ice Yacht Club desired to purchase this land, it might do so upon the payment to each of the grantees the sum contributed by each grantee for the purchase of the property. Evidently this was considered a burden for the seven members of the club who were at the December 29, 1906 meeting adopted a resolution purporting to remove the need for payment by the club.

Many years later, in 1922, Frank F. Collyer laid claim to the land to the north of the clubhouse. He marked off a boundary line with a rope and post barrier and set up an iron post at what he claimed was the southerly limit of the property that he owned jointly with M.W. Collyer and George Hunt. He also removed the Collyer boathouse to the north of the club property, where it still stands. In addition, he removed the electric lines that ran on trees across the land he claimed. The club had to spend $48.43 to run the wires on posts along the roadway that then was at the back of the club. Frank Collyer then resigned from the club in 1923.

At that point the club hired Mr. Schofield, a Beacon surveyor, to establish a correct boundary line. The survey showed that the removed boathouse was 10 feet 6 inches on club land at the west and 8 feet on the east and that the iron post was 16 feet inside club grounds. This survey cost the club $63.90 and was confirmed by an independent survey which Frank Collyer had made. As a result the rope and post barrier was removed, and bath houses were placed against the boathouse. The map of the survey was filed in the county clerk's office.

Finally, in April 1928, F.W. Pollock succeeded in obtaining the consent of the joint owners of the property to deeding it to the club, but retaining a life interest to themselves. The club would acquire Mr. Hunt's share at his death and the shares of M.W. Collyer and F.F. Collyer at the death of the survivor of the two. In June a complimentary dinner was given to the three donors.

The story ends on the Fourth of July 1993 when a ceremony was held to dedicate the land around the gazebo as Collyer Point. Frank Collyer had presented the deed to that land to the club on July 4, 1943. The ceremony was attended by Mrs. Marguerite Spratt, his granddaughter, and by Constance Smith, the supervisor of the Town of Wappinger. (Chelsea Yacht Club Newslines, July 1993.)

History - Previous Section    History - Next Section