A few weeks back I wrote about the history of the Greater Wildwood Yacht Club as it was being compiled by Theresa and Dave Williams from the Wildwood Crest Historical Society using old photos and newspaper clips to create a Ken Burns style documentary.
Since writing that piece I’ve learned that there was a yacht club on the island as far back as 1904. That first club was also located in Wildwood Crest but since there was no such thing as Wildwood Crest in 1904, the club was named Holly Beach Yacht Club after one of the earliest established communities on the island. Holly Beach eventually joined what would become Wildwood.
As with almost everything happening on the island at this time, William H. Bright, mayor and state senator, was a major factor in forming the club and served as its first commodore.
This club built a massive three story clubhouse on the water, complete with ballroom, smoking and billiard rooms, and a number of guest rooms to accommodate visiting yachtsmen, including Woodrow Wilson who dropped by in 1911. That grand structure lasted until 1939 when it burned to the ground.
Local rivalries started early in the history of the Wildwoods and a second club got started up on Otten’s Canal. It was dubbed the Wildwood Yacht Club and its first commodore was Henry Otten who owned pretty much all the land in what is today the west side of North Wildwood.
A piece in a local newspaper boasted that this club’s “nearness to fishing and crabbing grounds adds to its popularity” and the club was a big favorite with the “Philly sporting and business set” until it too burned to the ground in the 1930’s, apparently a busy decade for the island’s volunteer firemen.
It was also in the late 1930 that the present club on Sunset Lake originated and again the Bright family played a major role. Ward and Cooper Bright donated Castlereagh, Priscilla and William Bright’s home to the club and the entire building was moved from East Taylor Avenue to Park Boulevard on the lake. In a precursor of future Wildwood development trends, the showpiece building was replaced with a brick apartment house.
Incidentally, Ward was quite the yachtsman. He owned a three-mast schooner, the Atlantic. This schooner once held the transatlantic sailing record. Bright actually saved the vessel from being destroyed. He moved it to the Wildwood yacht Basin where it was anchored for years and served as a landmark for visitors coming onto the island.
Of course, long time locals viewing the documentary will recognize plenty of names and faces from their own pasts, whether they took up sailing or just lived their daily lives on the island. The documentary is available for viewing this week.
Call 729-4515 for more information.
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