Thank you to all the Residents and Sponsors for coming out to the Fundraiser at the Ormond Yacht Club. We thank those members of their board who tirelessly worked on cleaning it up after the storm! 

For those who missed seeing it on the inside here is (edited down) some information taken directly from their web site! 

The Ormond Yacht Club was chartered on February 10, 1910 “to increase the sociability and general up-building of the town of Ormond and to promote boating in its broadest sense”. The Ormond Union Church, which owned the property, gave their permission to build a clubhouse on the “parsonage ground” for a period of twenty-five years at the nominal cost of $5 per year. They asked that the OYC “build a good-looking house and that nothing objectionable should be carried on in the building”.

The OYC retained prominent local architect and builder Sumner Hale Gove to design the clubhouse. A 34’ x 26’ two story wood frame building with wood shingles on the sides and roof was built. Originally there were decks on the south and east sides instead of the current west and south sides. There is a 147’ walkway from the shore to the building and there was an approximately 300’ dock extending from the northeast corner of the building to a boat shed with stalls. The boat shed was destroyed, presumably by a storm, in the early 1920’s. 

While boating never seems to have been a major emphasis of the OYC it was certainly of some significance. At the time of construction of the clubhouse and boat shed dredging was done to accommodate boating. There are records in the OYC archives documenting fees paid for docking boats. Reference is made in the OYC meeting minutes to the “dock” being destroyed by storms in 1944 and 1950 and being rebuilt.  ...it is clear that the use of small boats, but not what would likely be considered by most as yachts, was of some importance to the OYC from 1910 through at least 1950. 

The interior of the building is made of rough sawn cypress and pine. There are four rooms on the first floor. There are two exterior doors on the south side of the first floor. Entering through the western of these there is a 16’ x 19’ pool room which has housed the same pool table since at least 1912. There is a bathroom accessible through a door in the pool room.  A door on the east side of the pool room leads to the cards/reading/sitting room with spacious views of the Halifax River and the western shore. This room runs the entire width of the building and is 14’ deep. A monumental, native coquina rock and masonry fireplace is located at the northern wall of this room. To the left of the fireplace, through the western wall of this room is a doorway to a small office of approximately 12’ x 10’. 

The second floor is entirely open except for a 9’ x 6’ bathroom in the northwest corner. Originally there was a wooden set of stairs from the south deck to the second floor in the center of the south wall. In November 1914 the members voted to remove those stairs, and they were replaced by the stairs which now exist and are accessed from the exterior of the building on the west deck.

In addition to meetings, dances and pot-luck dinners were held upstairs, and meetings and social events continue to be held upstairs. 

In December of 1915 the members voted to wire the building for electricity. Some modifications have been made to the building over the years, but relatively few, some of which may be reversed in the future. The clubhouse remains largely unchanged and retains its original appearance, layout, and essential character. 

NOTE: No one wants to come over the bridge and NOT see this wonderful part of History! Resident Donations may still be made to help keep up the preservation of this building. Write checks to "OYC" and mail to Edee Dalke at 2539 S. Peninsula Dr. DB 32118. We will give a final fundraising amount in the January issue! 

Go to: OrmondYachtClub.com for historical information about the founding members.