The earliest minutes of the quarterly meetings of the Board of Directors of the Wilmington Country Club are dated July 2, 1902, at which time the House Rules – not significantly different from those in effect today – were presented to the House Committee and approved. At a cost of $2,000, 25 workers and eight horses raked the land several times and produced the Club’s first golf course by August 1901. The golf course was initially only nine holes, because some acres were reserved for income-producing wheat. After the wheat was harvested, the Board decided to expand the golf course to 18 holes. At a cost of only $850, nine additional holes were created in three weeks. The Clubhouse, designed by architect E.J. Dallet was completed July 1, 1902. Adding to its construction cost, the caddie house, horse sheds and furniture brought the figure to almost $27,000. In the first years of the Club, it was thought that “golf should have first place,” but a Tennis Committee was soon formed. Golf team matches were played with other clubs, and an open tournament was held in November 1902. A fall tennis tournament that year had an entry list of 70. Soon to follow: trap shooting, clock golf, croquet and quoits. In less than a year, plans were being discussed for enlarging the Club. Membership classifications were essentially similar in the early days of the Club to those today, although in 1913 non-resident members could “be persons not residing within 10 miles of the Clubhouse.” In 1918, the Wilmington Country Club played a dramatic role when it served as a temporary hospital for local victims of the Spanish influenza that struck Wilmington and the world. Since Wilmington’s hospitals could not accommodate the large number of seriously ill flu patients, the Clubhouse was pressed into service and tents were erected on the Golf Course to allow for extra beds. In 1924, an alleged carelessly tossed cigarette igniting confetti following a masked ball, caused the fire that completely destroyed the Clubhouse. A new building opened the following year. In 1937, with the knowledge that the lease on the Golf Course was due to expire in 1961, the Club purchased 807 acres on Churchman’s Road near Stanton, Delaware. The Club actually owned about 21 acres of the Pennsylvania Avenue property where the Clubhouse, parking lot, squash building and tennis courts were located. The remaining 108 acres were leased from William duPont, Jr. In 1945, the Wilmington Country Club sold the Stanton property and purchased the 221-acre Concord Country Club in nearby Concordville, Pennsylvania. All members of the Wilmington Country Club automatically became members of the
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