Eagles Mere Country Club

The Williamsport Daily Gazette and Bulletin reported Sept. 19, 1911 that the Eagles Mere Golf Club organized and planned to build a new golf course. “Up to now, Eagles Mere has lacked first class golf accommodations. These are to be supplied before the beginning of another season by the Eagles Mere Golf Club.” Elected president of the new organization was 30-year-old Edgar Munson. He was the son of prominent Williamsport, Pa. attorney LaRue Munson, who owned a cottage in Eagles Mere as early as 1884. The large Munson cottage across from the Lakeside Hotel was heavily damaged during the tornado of 1892.

The Williamsport Daily Gazette and Bulletin announced on June 17, 1913 that the six-hole golf course, on what was formerly the Avery farm, was open. In 1915, according to Bill Albertini, who later served as president of both Eagles Mere and Merion Golf Club, Eagles Mere hired William Flynn to plan an expansion from six to nine holes. Flynn added four more holes by 1916. Eagles Mere became an 18-hole venue in 1923. It was so popular and crowded that, in 1924, the club decided to build a second 18-hole golf course. It borrowed $46,000, mostly from local investors, to do so. Flynn was again hired for the project.

The first five holes of Course No. 2 opened in the summer of 1927 while construction work continued on the four other holes of the front nine. Nine holes opened for play in 1928.The yardage figures for ten holes that were actually constructed came from a scorecard that was used for Eagles Mere’s Course No. 2 in 1929. It is unclear if Flynn suggested these changes while the course was being built or if they were dictated by financial constraints. Considering the fact that the construction was halted quickly and the course was abandoned not long after the stock market crashed, it isn’t unreasonable to speculate that finances played a major role in the changes to the planned Course No. 2 before the decision was made to end construction. When the exciting and prosperous days of the 1920s came to a screeching halt, membership at Eagles Mere declined dramatically. Course No. 2 was soon closed and abandoned. Apparently the 10 completed holes of that course were used at least through the 1934 summer season.

The clubhouse at Eagles Mere, an old structure built in the 1840s, was renovated in 1992. It was a $750,000 improvement project. There was a membership assessment of $300 a year for three years to help fund the reconstruction. In 1995, the old maintenance facility was torn down. Joe Heim designed and supervised the construction of a new maintenance building.

Eagles Mere celebrated its centennial in 1911.