More on the Middletown Yacht Club

I left you hanging on Friday with the first 20 years of the history of the Middetown Yacht Club, which I will continue with this morning. The Middletown Yacht Club was the fourth of its kind in the country!

The yacht club can trace its origins back to 1896 when it was opened as the Mattabesett Canoe Club. They changed their name in 1905, and erected the current building on Harbor Park Drive in 1916. The contracts for the current building went to Salvatore Mazzotta for the masonry work and Wells & Wilcox for the carpentry.

During World War I, the club's commodore, Thomas Macdonough Russell, organized patrols on the river to be performed by the club's membership. Six boats and 50 men were assigned regular patrols to protect the city.

One of the largest boat races held by the club was on June 30, 1923, and there were many famous people in attendance. My mother clearly remembers the speed boat races on the Connecticut River in the 1930s. They were popular and well attended by enthusiasts from throughout the eastern seaboard. The first outboard motor race was held in the summer of 1928, and the Middletown club became the site for other organization's races during the following years.

Women began competing in the yacht club's races in 1929, and in 1930 the club was host to the National Outboard Championships.

In 1939, the club sold its home to the American Legion. It isn't clear what instigated this sale, but I suspect the floods of 1929 and 1936 probably motivated them to seek higher ground.

During that period, the club opened a place on Long Island Sound in 1937, and may have already established itself in Maromas along the river. Thomas Macdonough Russell Jr. bought land there in 1945 and a small clubhouse was built in 1946. This new site provided several benefits ... it was closer to Long Island Sound and not as close to downtown Middletown and the associated "hubbub."

And, most importantly, it didn't flood like the old site!  

When Connecticut Atomic Nuclear Engine Laboratory bought up land in Maromas for its atomic research lab, the Middletown Yacht Club was required to, again, find a new home. In 1956, the club sold its property to the federal government for $32,000 and settled in Chester at its current location. Its name was changed to the Middlesex Yacht Club at that time.