Rise and fall of the Chariton Gun Club Pavilion

I happened upon this post card view of the Chariton Gun Club Pavilion the other day in the historical society collection --- a building on the east shore of Crystal Lake (also known as Country Club Lake) that stood from 1922 until it was torn down during the summer of 1956.  

Today, we have Red Haw State Park, thousands of acres of public recreational land, the Vredenburg Aquatic Center and much more. But for many years, the Pavilion was the focus of public outdoor recreational activity in Lucas County.

Here's the text of a front-page article from The Chariton Leader of July 31, 1956, published as the building was near its end, that provides some of the background:

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A recreational spot that was a prominent part of Chariton's social life 25 years ago is likely to become a thing of the past. The Chariton Gun Club pavilion, a small house near the pavilion and other physical property belonging to the former club will be sold at public auction next Saturday.

Sheriff Wayne Swanson will sell the property in front of the court house at 10 a.m. in favor of the estate of Miller Ream, deceased. Ream held notes of indebtedness against the property.

The property presumably will be sold for its salvage value and will be torn down unless the Lake View Golf and County Club, present owners of the land, should bid on for the property. The Country Club purchased the land from the Burlington Railroad several months ago. The Gun Club held a short-term lease on the grounds.

Actually, the Gun Club has not been active for many years, although it continued as a legal entity. Most recent operators of the property, under lease from the gun Club, have been the Lucas County Conservation Club, the Eagles Lodge and the Lions Club.

The sale saturday will bring memories to older residents of a period when the Gun Club was one of the most popular recreational spots in the area, offering a fine beach, boating, regular dances and a full social program of picnis and other events in addition to the trap and skeet shooting activity.

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The Leader of August 7 reported that, "Tom McCann, of rural Chariton, was the successful bidder for the Chariton Gun Club pavilion and the adjacent caretaker's house at a sheriff's sale Saturday morning. the winning bid was $1,830. It was announced at the sale that the purchaser would have 60 days to raze the building and remove it from the property, now owned by the Lake View Country Club. The country club was not a bidder at the auction."

After the Pavilion was demolished, its site was divided into building lots where cottages were constructed. In more recent years, the cottages have for the most part been replaced by permanent homes --- some quite elaborate --- although the land underneath the buildings as well as the lake still are owned by the country club.

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As background, it's useful to know that the lake itself was built as a reservoir during 1905 by the C.B.&Q. Railroad as a water source --- pumped to towers near the depot. The land around the lake originally was leased by the railroad to a farmer for grazing.

During 1908, a group of 25 men interested in recreational and competitive shooting, hunting and fishing subleased the shoreline and the four acres where the Pavilion later was built. In 1910, the club took over the lease for the entire property and development began.

The Gun Club's goal was to develop a public recreation area --- nothing like that had existed before --- and it became very broad-based organization. A beach was built as well as a smaller recreational pavilion. Membership was purposely inexpensive so that as many families as possible might join and by 1922, when the original pavilion burned, membership was estimated at 650 families.

During 1920, the Lake View Golf and County Club --- a considerably more exclusive outfit --- was organized and subleased 40 acres at the south end of the lake from the Gun Club for a 9-hole course and club house.

The first Gun Club Pavilion burned during July of 1922 and its replacement was in place by six weeks later. Officers of the club had decided that their members as a rule could not afford assessments to fund new construction so more affluent members chipped in, civic organizations donated to the cause and fund-raisers were held.

Here's how The Herald-Patriot of Aug. 17, 1922, described the new Pavilion when it was opened: 

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Between two and three thousand people attended the formal opening of the new Gun Club pavilion at the Club grounds west of town Tuesday evening ...

... The new house was found on inspection to be a large, roomy and practically arranged building. The structure is in its dimension 60 feet square. Facing the lake is a porch 14 feet by 40 feet. A kitchen, 12 feet by 30 feet, faces north. On the interior around the four sides of the large room is built a balcony which will seat about 500 people. The basement is used for lockers, showers, athletic equipment, etc. On the north side of the basement are found the men's locker and dressing room. On the south side, ladies locker equipment has been installed. Shower baths will be provided later. Throughout, the building is modern and up to date club house....

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The Pavilion probably was Lucas County's most widely used public venue during the years leading up to World War II, then use gradually declined as the building aged and recreational habits changed during the post-war years.

The country club purchased the lake outright from the railroad in the mid-1950s and the forced sale of remaining Gun Club assets cleared an area that the country club wanted to develop into cottage sites for its members.

Once the old buildings had been removed, the country club began to more aggressively assert its property rights --- using a series of public notices and other measures to notify the general public, long accustomed to using the Gun Club grounds and access to the lake from the area, that this was now private members-only property --- and so it remains.