The Yorick Club was a
private social club in
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...
, which twenty prominent young Lowell men founded in February 1882.
["History of Lowell and its people, Volume 1", p. 383, By Frederick William Coburn.] The club went bankrupt in 1979 and was dissolved; its former clubhouse is now Cobblestones Bar & Restaurant.
[Lylah M. Alphonse, "Dining Out in Lowell," ''Boston Globe'' (September 28, 2003).]
Inception and club history
The first meeting to organize "a young men's social club" was held at the home of
Joseph A. Nesmith on November 11, 1882. The next few meetings were held between Nesmith's home and the home of
George R. Richardson until the group rented a room at the
Wyman's Exchange building.
At that time, the first elected officials Included:
*
Percy Parker
The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, and derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into ...
, President
*
Frederick W. Stickney Architect, Secretary
*
Frederick A. Chase Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Given name
Nobility
= Anhalt-Harzgerode =
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
= Austria =
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from ...
Treasurer
*
George R. Richardson Director
*
Walter M. Lancaster Director
Other members included Joseph & James Nesmith, George S. Motley, Theodore E. Parker Jr., Walter U. Lawson, Paul Butler, Samuel E. Stott, Charles H. Hooke, Harry V. Huse, Edward Ellingwood, Herbert P. Jefferson,
Fred C. Church, Gerard Bement, Harry A. Brown, and Frank W. Howe.
On May 19, 1883, the club officially became the "Yorick Gentlemen's Club". Through 1885, the club rented spaces in the Hildreth and Post Office Buildings. The club then took over a suite of rooms in the Mansur Building.
In June 1900, a fire forced the club to relocate to the not-yet-named Yorick Building.
Clubhouse
On July 22, 1901, the members purchased the forty-year-old boarding house located at 91 Dutton Street. Originally, the three-story brick building served as boarding for officials of the
Merrimack Manufacturing Company
The Merrimack Manufacturing Company (also known as Merrimack Mills) was the first of the major textile manufacturing concerns to open in Lowell, Massachusetts, beginning operations in 1823.
History
After the death of Francis Cabot Lowell ...
. After the Yorick Club took over, architect
Frederick W. Stickney, Secretary of the club, designed the renovations of the building.
This became the permanent home of the Yorick Club for the next 78 years, until it was dissolved in 1979.
The design of the original construction, as well as the later renovations, saved the building from "urban renewal" in the late 1960s.
The building was then converted to dining facilities in 1978 and housed a variety of small restaurants. In 1994, the building was purchased by Scott and Kathy Plath and renamed Cobblestones Bar & Restaurant but retains the name of the "Yorick Building" as part of the
Lowell National Historical Park
Lowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises a ...
[
]
Events and notoriety
Just after the opening of the new building, Mayor Charles A. R. Dimon invited Chief Sachem of the Passaconaway Tribe of the Improved Order of Red Men
The Improved Order of Red Men is a List of civic, fraternal, service, and professional organizations, fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. It claims direct descent from the colonial era Sons of Liberty. Their rituals and ...
for lunch at the club.
In 1908, John O. Heinze, president of the Lowell Automobile Club and owner of the Heinze Electric Company, convinced the governor to allow the roads around Lowell to be used as a race track over a week around Labor Day. Backed by the Automobile Club of America, American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association (AAA) is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 million members in the United States and Cana ...
, and the Lowell Automobile Club, the "Auto Carnival" was held. The Yorick Club Trophy was one of three trophy sponsored competitions alongside the Vesper Club Trophy and the Merrimack Valley Trophy.
Author Marc Scott Miller spent time during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
at the Yorick Club. He described his experience in his book ''The Irony of Victory: World War II and Lowell, Massachusetts'':
... A good deal of soliciting for donations to the Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
and other social service organizations occurred informally at the Yorick Club, Lowell's exclusive lunch club for three hundred men of respectable positions and income: mill owners, managers, a few doctors and lawyers, 'successful' businessmen. ...
Former World War II veteran Frederick F. Bobola managed the club in its later years prior to its dissolution.
Notable members
* Victor Francis Jewett
Victor Francis Jewett (November 16, 1881 January 7, 1936) was an American politician who was the member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General ...
(b. 1881) Massachusetts House of Representatives (1912–1928)
* Charles Herbert Allen
Charles Herbert Allen (April 15, 1848 – April 20, 1934) was an American politician and businessman. After serving in state and federal elected positions, he was appointed as the first United States-appointed civilian governor of Puerto Rico wh ...
(b. 1848) U.S. Congressman 1885-1889
* Frederick W. Stickney (1854–1918), Architect
* Fred A. Buttrick (b. 1848), Banker
* Fred C. Church, Insurance man
* George W. McQuade (b. 1924) WWII vet. & Hosiery
Hosiery, (, ) also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the foot, feet and human leg, legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also ...
Industrialist.
* George S. Archer (b. 1916) WWII vet. & Vesper Country Club
Vesper Country Club is a private club in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. The club derives from two late 19th century institutions, Vesper Boat Club and Lowell Country Club, which merged in 1894. The following year, members started creating a golf cou ...
president.
* John Frederic Havey (b. 1878) Harvard Grad. & Sales.
* Ethan Allen Smith (b. 1840) Real Estate Investor.
* Freeman Manter Bill (b. 1859) Wholesale Market Investor.["History of Lowell and its people, Volume 1", p. 219, By Frederick William Coburn.]
See also
* List of traditional gentlemen's clubs in the United States
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yorick Club (Lowell, Ma)
Clubs and societies in Massachusetts
Clubs and societies in the United States
Organizations based in Lowell, Massachusetts
1882 establishments in Massachusetts
1979 disestablishments in Massachusetts
Gentlemen's clubs in Massachusetts