It's been more than 70 years since any golfer took a swing at the Riverhead Country Club, but its clubhouse still stands and is currently under consideration by the town board for designation as a historic landmark, according to Newsday.
The former clubhouse, located on the east side of Route 25, is one of four sites that will be reviewed in a joint hearing next month by the Riverhead Town Board and the town's Landmarks Preservation Committee. Since the 1950s the building has been in use as the Riverhead Elks Lodge.
Riverhead Country Club's golf course and clubhouse were built on farmland in the early 1920s. According to town resolutions, the club was "likely the first golf course and country club in the town of Riverhead." The 18-hole course played on both sides of Main Street, with a driving range located behind the clubhouse.
Like many lesser-known clubs of the era, it struggled to survive beyond World War II, and by the late 1940s much of the course was sold for residential development. The American Legion purchased the property and later sold the clubhouse to the Riverhead Elks in the late 1950s.
[PICTURED: Riverhead Country Club postcard, circa 1920s; courtesy Gail Evans]