The former property of the Albany Country Club in McKownville

McKownville Improvement Association
- The former property of the Albany Country Club in McKownville

The Albany Hunt and Country Club was started in 1890, initially using an old farmhouse as its first clubhouse, and presumably renting it, as there are no purchases recorded under that name in the deed index list. The renamed Albany Country Club was incorporated in 1894, and the first real property purchase by the Club recorded in 1895, the house of William J Knowles, known then as "Woodlawn", along with 86 acres. The first 9-hole golf course was constructed in this property, and the house was soon much enlarged in 1898 to a design of Marcus T Reynolds, a well known architect of the time in Albany. An additional 15 acres adjoining the west side of the property was added by a purchase in 1904.
The Club modified a dam across the east branch of the Krumkill stream to enlarge a small lake for skating and swimming; this apparently flooded a part of Charles Winne's property adjacent to the Club, which also in 1904 bought the 2 acres affected, around the east end of the pond. This pond and its earth dam still exist on the State University of New York at Albany campus, the last feature there recognizable from the time of the Country Club.
The Club later expanded its property significantly, mostly in the years 1913-16, with purchases (see map and list below) of much of the adjacent land extending north to Washington Avenue and west to Fuller Road, in order to build an 18-hole golf course.

map of property of
the Albany Country Club acquired 1895-1923

vertical air photo taken
1948 of the area of the Albany Country Club and vicinity

Map of property acquired by the Albany Country club 1895-1923; information from deeds in the Albany County Clerk's Office (list below).
1895 - purchase of 86 acres from William J Knowles
1904 - two lots, 15 acres, and 2 acres, both adjacent to the original purchase
1913-16 - all but one lot of the remainder purchased (includes narrow 1.6 acre piece bought in 1909)
1923 - the last lot purchased; the total reported to be 298 acres

Air photo excerpt (above right) from a 1948 survey, shows the golf courses and property of the Albany Country Club, and adjacent parts of McKownville and the City of Albany.
(image from M E Grenander Special Collections and Archives, University at Albany)
Washington Avenue is the major road near the north edge of this image; Western Avenue (US 20) is the straight main road crossing the southern part.
Fairways of the 18-hole golf course are the grey areas in the middle to upper part of the image. When viewed at larger size the greens of the course show up as small lighter grey areas at the end of each fairway, and the light-toned sand bunkers can also be seen.
Click on either the map or the photo image to view enlarged.
The older 9-hole course was in the grey area in the lower middle part of the photo; the pond in the club grounds extends east from this. The light area containing an oval track near the east end of the pond was a horse riding school and trotting track accessed from Tudor Road, not part of the Club.

Most of this area is now occupied by the State University of New York at Albany campus. Maps showing the layout of the golf course, and the locations of the main campus buildings relative to the former golf course are contained on a separate page. Another page contains maps showing the former locations of several old 19thC houses and the Five Mile tavern on and near the Club property.

properties purchased by the Albany Country Club in Albany County 1895--1923

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
456; 263-5	86 acres (S part gt lots 14 & 15)	William J & Carrie Knowles	Albany Country Club	1895-01-31	1895-04-01
567; 161-2	~15 acres E½ of Hendrickson (in gt lot 16)	Howard Van Rensselaer	Albany Country Club	1904-04-27	1908-04-22
577; 38-9	~2 acres, partly flooded (pt of gt lot 13)	Charles V Winne	Albany Country Club	1904-06-02	1908-04-22
603; 414-5	16.85 acres (N parts of gt lots 14, 15)	Isabella McCauley	Albany Country Club	1913-04-02	1913-04-02
630; 435	46.6ac (gt lot 3)	Lois E Bainbridge	Albany Country Club	1913-08-25	1915-09-22
642; 453-6	~39ac (N parts of gt lots 16, 17)	Albert V V Dodge et al	Albany Country Club	1915-09-22	1915-09-22
644; 452-3	1.6 acres (pt of gt lot 13)	Charles V Winne	Albany Country Club	1909-11-29	1915-10-28
644; 488-9	12.2 ac (W part gt lot 13)	Charles V Winne	Albany Country Club	1915-11-11	1915-11-11
646; 481-2	13.8ac (N part of gt lot 14)	Albany Hospital	Albany Country Club	1916-02-03	1916-02-09
651; 113	3 parcels, sold for taxes owing	Albany County Treasurer	Albany Country Club	1916-06-20	1916-06-20
657; 14-6	7 acres (part of gt lot 16)	John N Grasser	Albany Country Club	1916-06-27	1916-06-28
657; 16-7	4 acres (part of gt lot 16)	John N Grasser	Albany Country Club	1916-06-27	1916-06-28
658; 38-40	43.9 acres (gt lot 4)	Cooper Land Company	Albany Country Club	1916-07-06	1916-07-10
741; 9-10	8 acres (part of gt lot 5)*	Georgiana Hein	Albany Country Club	1923-12-17	1923-12-17

*this deed contains an apparently defective property description (details here)

The area of the properties above add up to 296 acres; given the approximations involved, this is essentially identical to the 298 acres which the Club was reported to own in 1960, when the State took the Club property by eminent domain.
The previous ownership history of the properties in this area, back to the sale by the City of Albany in 1817-18 of the Great Lots (numbers 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the map of Evert Van Alen 1817), is listed on a separate web page. The grantors of the conveyances above can be found among these older transaction histories shown in the tables on that page.

properties sold (or leased) by the Albany Country Club 1950-65

Deed book, pages	property	Grantor	grantee	date	date recorded
1222; 258-62	0.93 acres on Fuller Rd	Albany Country Club	Independent Benevolent Society of Albany	1950-05-11	1950-05-30
1288; 101-4	483ft strip in Fuller Rd	Albany Country Club	City of Albany	1949-05-10	1951-10-22
1297; 345-7	15 yr lease; 200x150 ft on W Ave	Albany Country Club	Socony-Vacuum Oil Company	1951-12-07	1952-01-14
1401; 419-22	3.15 acres on Western Ave	Albany Country Club	Western Turnpike Realty Company	1954-04-07	1954-05-18
1651; 139	strip along Fuller Road E side	Albany Country Club	Albany County Board of Supervisors	1960-05-26	1960-06-03
1823; 493-6	200x150 ft lot on W Ave	Albany Country Club	Socony-Vacuum Oil Company	1965-03-04	1965-03-15

The Club sold none of the property it purchased 1895-1923 before the 1950 sale above

Expropriation notices 1961-2

Deed book, pages	property	notifying agency	grantee	date	date recorded
1672; 69	Albany Country Club	Dept of Public Works	People of the State of New York	1961-01-03	1961-01-03
1691; 161-2	Albany Country Club	Dept of Education	Trustees of the State University of New York	1961-07-20	1961-08-26
1697; 131-2	Albany Country Club	Dept of Public Works	Affidavit of personal service	1961-03-17	1961-04-04

return to Location of old tavern in Country Club property page
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