Mount Hood is an 18 hole golf club and park located in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population, per the 2020 United States Census, is 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. I ...

. It was built in the 1930s on donated land as part of

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

and once consisted of a ski area. Today, Mount Hood serves as a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

and park, while sledding is popular in the winter.

History

Beginnings

The land that comprises Mount Hood was donated to the City of Melrose and developed as part of

in the early 1930s. The original complex consisted of a nine-hole golf course, a

clubhouse Clubhouse may refer to: Locations * The meetinghouse of: ** A club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal ** In the United States, a country club ** In the United Kingdom, a gentlemen's club * A ...

, Slayton Tower, a wooden

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill o ...

track that ran from the clubhouse, over Stillman Road and down the first hole fairway, and a

ski jump Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

, credited as being the first of its kind in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. Also built were two cabins: one for the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

and one for the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

. Slayton Tower was built to house a small Army outpost assigned to look out over the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

for German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s during World War II. From the top, one can see the entire

Revere Beach Revere Beach is a public beach in Revere, Massachusetts, located about north of downtown Boston. The beach is over long. In 1875, a rail link was constructed to the beach, leading to its increasing popularity as a summer recreation area, and in ...

area and also part of Lynn Beach. When winter arrived, the park was used for various activities including skiing, sledding, and skating. In addition to the toboggan run and ski jump, there was also a rope tow to bring skiers and sledders from the bottom of the slope—officially named the Arthur L. Delaney Ski Slope—to the top. Skating on the first pond was also popular and the area was lit, allowing activities to continue into the night.

Current conditions

Since the closing of the ski area, estimated to be around 1971, Mount Hood has functioned as both a park and a golf course. Its various hiking and biking trails offer a way to get away from the busy city life and the park also contains a tot lot for children. There are also several ponds where ice skating and fishing are allowed. Though the ski resort no longer exists, sledding is popular in the winter. The size of Mount Hood golf course was increased from nine to eighteen holes and today it offers challenge and variety unique in the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

area. In the midst of a wooded park, from the Zakim Bridge it boasts views of nearby Boston,

and the wilderness. Notable of the course is that eight of the eighteen tees are elevated allowing high tee shots as well as views from Boston to

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. ''Golf Management LLC''. Retrieved on January 23, 2008

References

External links

Mount Hood Park AssociationMount Hood Golf Club
{{coord, 42, 27, 00, N, 71, 02, 09, W, display=title 1930s establishments in Massachusetts Golf clubs and courses in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Melrose, Massachusetts Sports venues in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Sports venues completed in the 1930s Works Progress Administration in Massachusetts

History

Beginnings

Current conditions

See also

References

External links