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Hatchie Coon was founded in 1884 and most of the 850 acres it now owns were purchased by the Club shortly thereafter.
Although Hatchie Coon holds title to only 850 acres, it butts up to 25,000 acres titled in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and known as the St. Frances Sunken Lands Management Area.
The Club has the only access to the river within three miles north and two miles south of our property.
Our First Clubhouse
1889 – 1920
1920 – 1929 – Not Pictured – Temporary Clubhouse
Our Second Clubhouse
1929 – 1963 (Death by Fire and Adult Beverages)
I got this photo (bottom one) from Dr. Wayne Capooth, author of Golden Age of Waterfowl, It was on display at the Dixon Gallery as part of this Winter’s antique decoy show. It is the oldest photo that I have seen of this 1929 clubhouse; note that the walkway is all wood; by the time I came to the club with my father (1955), the walkway had the metal posts with wood deck and rails. We replaced that walkway last year.
The women’s quarters are on the right; the poker room is on the left. There was a large living room with fireplace, separate large dining room, kitchen and manager’s quarters were to the rear, two big dorm rooms for the men (each had about 20 beds) were to the left of the living room. The large men’s bath room, at least 6 sinks, 6 toilet stalls and 6 showers was through the dorm room A large locker room, at least 75 lockers, was past the men’s bath, and the poker room was past the locker room. All these rooms could also be reached from the large screened porch.
This clubhouse burned in the 1963; the manager (drunk) tried to thaw out the pipes with a blow torch. Dr. Charles Neely, deceased member and former president, researched the history of Hatchie Coon at the Memphis Room of the Main Library; he reported that the first clubhouse was used from 1889-1920; then there was a temporary structure until 1929; then the clubhouse pictured was opened and in use until 1963 when it burned and was replaced with the existing mound and a “modular structure”; that clubhouse burned in 1988 (electrical fire on screened porch) and was replaced with our current structure which opened in November 1988. Scott May
Our Third Clubhouse – (again, death by fire, but lacking the adult beverages)
Our Current Clubhouse
The current 5,500 square-foot clubhouse was opened in November, 1988, as was our new, all weather, gravel access road. The access road was built over the existing tram roadway which had been in use since before 1900. Our new, all steel bridge, was opened in August of 1999.
The clubhouse is constructed of cypress with a vaulted ceiling great room, large screened porch, commercial kitchen, managers quarters (with two bedrooms, sitting room and bath) and 11 guest bedrooms which sleep a total of 32 people. WiFi, TV, printer, computer and wireless high speed fiber optic internet provide contact with the outside world.
The Last Famous Tram
While The New Road Is Great..
Some Of Us Miss The Tram
It Must Be November
No, It’s Not An Area Chain Gang..
It’s Another Great Member Hunt
