Not so long ago, I went to a dinner party at a 1920 duck hunting club/lodge in St. Louis. Just as you would think, a great stone hall, large fireplaces at either end and rough hewn timber through-out.
Some of the best waterfowling prints hung in the main hall.
The land has been sold, and all that remains is the one bulding, it is a gentlemen's club today.
What a glorious place it must have been, I could just see those wonderful fowling guns all in their place.

Lowell:
The Duck Club I belong to was also started in the 1920’s. I think transportation made it possible for people to commute from the city to the duck marsh without overnight stays. Our club was on leased land until the mid 1980’s when the owner died and his wife decided to sell it to us. She would only sell the marsh to us if we had a deed restriction keeping it forever wild. The original owner made his money trapping; furs were very popular and high priced during the 20’s. He would take 5000 plus rats from our marsh in the days when a fur brought $1.00. He would hire Indian families from Canada to come down and flesh furs and prepare them for market. Anyhow, I first hunted there in 1965 as a young man with my Uncle. Most of the members were real characters, worked hard and played hard. My uncle shot a Model 12 Duck Gun and a AH Fox CE grade. Breakfast before the hunt was always a big event with lots of leg pulling and joking around. Everyone met for lunch at the club house (a 1880’s farm house converted, since burned) for venison burgers, fresh duck and Muskrat stew (and plenty of scotch) .
As I said we bought the place, 1800 acres in 1986 for $230. per acre if you can believe that! We are still operating today with few changes. We now allow gas motors and spinner decoys (ugh!). Many of us are now shooting vintage guns just like the old guys. One of our original members is still alive but gave up hunting a few years back at close to 90. It is a special place, only a hunter truly understands. Life is good.

Congrats Craig - great to see the old marsh haunts with their club houses still survive and sometimes thrive. Regretably my story is somewhat different. Thirty years ago I was invited to club on Wye Marsh. Those in Ontario will surely know of this locale. Famed for its hunting at one time. There were 8 members in the club all sons of the founders. The youngest member was 72 when I attended, 7 members were present at the club the 8th then in his early 90s was not able to attend opening day. None of the descendants of the members were interested or perhaps the cost of buying out the other member's shares was too daunting. They had 5000 acres deeded to them and now that land with it's massive log main lodge and attendant log cabins was valued in the millions of dollars. The club charter forbid anyone to sell shares outside the membership unless all the other members refused to buy the share and then to gain membership unanimous approval was required for the new member. It was two years later that the land and lodge were sold to the Onario Provincial Government and the lodge as a hunting establishment is no more. I am sure that there were likely deep pocketed people who would have bought the place but it was not to be. I only hunted there the one time but I well recall the lodge, the paintings, carvings and furnishings which made the place exactly what I then and now think a well established gentleman's hunting club should look like.

No real clubs around here, if there was, they are long gone now. Most of the "clubs" these days are usually just a group of people who lease a spot on the Platte river, a pit around the OshKosh area or on the Missouri. The only hunt club with a history around here would be the Peru hunt club and I dont think its around anymore, last I saw it was for sale.

I guess I belong to sort of a hunt club, a fraternity would be a better description...the club of "guys who hunt public marshes". Its a good club to belong to. Usually you're by yourself, you're where the ducks want to be and because its usually alot of work to get to the good spots, not alot of "fellow" hunters around to bother you. Its not as glamourous as some other places, but the hunting is fantastic, probably only to be outdone in the prairie pothole region & Canada.

Best,
Dustin

Our club doesn't go back to the 20's, but was formed in the years after WWII. There was a Japanese Internment camp at Newell, CA, in the middle of the Tulelake basin, on the Oregon, California border. At the time, the vast majority of birds on the Pacific Flyway funneled through the Tulelake and Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuges, some 6,000,000 ducks and geese a year.
Returning GI's could homestead 160 acres of the drained lakebed and for $1.00 could buy one of the Internment Camp buildings. Two returning GI's homesteaded one parcel and bought 3 Camp buildings to form a Duck Club, the Greenhead Lodge. They both lived in So. Cal. and ran a summer camp for boys in the summer and the Duck Club in the fall. One of them was a pilot and bought a C47 from the military and flew hunters to Tulelake to stay at the Greenhead Lodge. They charged $10.00 per day for room and board.
The venture lasted about 6 years and then they sold the property to a group of the people who had come up there to hunt and it turned into a private club but they sold all but the house and 2.5 acres. The hunting is done on the two refuges. It remains that way to this day.
My friend and I started hunting there in the early 60's in high school as a guest of the son of one of the members and eventually bought into the club when memberships became available. As has happened with so many clubs, the membership aged and when the hunting deteriorated in the 1980's, it was hard to find new members. Thus the membership dwindled down to today where the club is owned by myself, my friend and my son. We still use it for hunting ducks, geese, pheasants, quail and digger squirrels in the spring. It is a wonderful place that will someday pass to my son and hopefully will continue as a great place to hunt. I have included several photos of the old club.
Gordon

Gordon, a nice piece of history you have - thanks for the pictures.
Just north of St.Louis in the flood plane lands, the area is dotted with duck clubs. Membership is private and expensive.
So the tradition carries on around here - altho' not on as grand of a scale!
...but it is the premier sport to belong.
My land that I own now was once a huntin' & fishin' club for the locals.

It was just last year that I was invited to shoot one of these clubs - Toddy(my Choc. Lab) and Beesley was ready to go for it.
...but the guys weren't too keen on old doubles on their property. I was offered-up a beefy autoloader for a loaner gun - well, we just went our merry ways.

I grew up in the St. Louis area and hunted or visited some of the old clubs. My great grandfather, an industrialist in the St. Louis area, was a founding member (in the 1870s) of Dardenne out in St. Charles. He and his buddies apparently would take the train to St. Charles and then be met by someone with a mule or horse drawn wagon to go the rest of the way. The original club house burned to the ground a few years ago and was rebuilt recently. Members have their own room and the main living/dining room looks out over the marsh. They have mostly deeper water and have ducks using the place when other areas are frozen solid.
Then my grandfather started a club in the 40's down the road, Baldwin Land Co, with some friends. It didn't even have a club house until the 1980s, when they built one on stilts maybe 10-12 up in the air because of the flooding. Some of the other clubs in the area like Silvers and especially Quivre are pretty fancy. August Busch and family have a beautiful farm and duck hunting spot in the area too and that goes back several generations. The hot duck hunting is near the confluence of the Missouri and Missiissippi rivers. Urban sprawl is knocking but so far the ducks don't seem to mind. It's an area that is almost impossible to free lance a duck hunt but, if you ever get a chance to see one of these clubs, jump at the opportunity.

I am the perennial guest of a friend at his duck club on Lake St. Clair, American side. It’s on an island, and is “old”.
Each year when we arrive, the same old fellow greets us at the ferry, takes our bags, and drives us out to the cottage. When we arrive, greetings are exchanged, bags magically dissappear, and we repair to our rooms. At dinner time, we go downstairs to find our guns wiped clean and placed in the racks. A fire crackles in the stone fireplace, and old decoys tastefully lay about the mantle. A panoply of hors d'oerves is arrayed, We have cocktails, and catch up on things before we sit down to eat. No venison sausage for these gents.
We draw at nine, the boats leave at 5. No second knocks.
Every year, I slip Joe Sam (our caretaker and guide) a bottle of whiskey, as a gift/gratuity, and sorta keep it quiet, as drinking by the workers is frowned on. He never lets on that he tipples between draws.
In the predawn hours, He motors us out to our spot, and drops us off in the darkness. I think he can navigate the bay in his sleep. I always ask him if the whiskey was OK, and he always smiles, and tells me “Yessirreee, that bottle was jusssst right!.” It makes for a nice day in the hide.
SO, everyone is happy, and we wait for the cans to start flying into the celery.

On Sunday, a little fatigued, and not looking forward to the drive home, I began to wonder something. As we waited for the ferry to dock, and we were saying our goodbyes, I decided to ask Joe Sam why he always tells me the whiskey is “Jussst Right!”. His answer? “Well, Mr, Z, if’n the bottle was any betta, you woont a give it to me, and if’n it was any worse, I coonta drunk it. So, it was Jussst Right!”

See y'all next year.

Thorny, What was the objection to old doubles? Hard to believe it was a deal breaker. RCC

I would say that they were concerned with the idea, and me being a guest and all.
Besides, I do as much loafing around as actual hunting.
I shoot ducks on my own place, so not much of a big deal either way.
I shot one duck last year - but could have filled my bag on many days. They just wing by, while I have coffee and bear claws.
The dogs are even bored with me!

Duck Hunting Clubs will have a hard time surviving in the future and not for reasons of money. Our Duck Hunting Club is as much about friends, the natural world, guns, dogs and the opportunity to kill wild ducks. Let me contrast it with what the future holds from my observations. A very rich shopping center developer bought up the marsh and 5000 acres to the north of our duck hunting club. The property was a small duck hunting club and a few large dairy farms. It didn’t take long for things to start changing in a big way. Up went the high fences; in came the whitetail and elk breeding stock. The tower shoot bird pens were next along with the pheasant pens. Next came the deer stands with heat and satellite TV. A giant resort club house with a walleye lake and an artificial trout stream. This guy and his friends are interested in big antlers and big bag limits, it’s all about the numbers. They want to hunt for a few hours, kill lots of stuff and get back to the office. Old time traditional duck hunts don’t/won’t appeal to this new generation. It’s like the difference between Gene Hill and American Hunter Magazine. In today’s world people want big and fast. Old time duck clubs were all about slowing the world down and enjoying friends etc. I think there will always be people who are interested in vintage guns and hunting in a more traditional manner, but they will be in the minority.

Craig, It is a sad prediction to be sure and one that is based on observation and jusified prediction. I am a member of a waterfowl fraternity, however I seem a little odd to the others. I paddle a canoe or row a boat when the wind is to high to safely paddle. I have avoided the mudmotors etc. so far but one day I may see the light of logic and spare myself some sore shoulders and late returns. I use a mixture of very old and I admit some modern decoys, shoot 100 year old doubles and load my own lp ammo. I rise early and make a good 6 to 8 hours each outing if my schedule permits. My freinds all shoot semi autos and keep track of how quick they can accumulate the limit. I pick and choose by species and drakes only if my eye sight serves me well. I love to watch my dog make incredible retrieves and get a kick out of getting birds to decoy to my set. I still build blinds and generally muck about in the marsh watching and listening and restoring my soul. I don't begrudge others their more efficient pursuits. The clubhouse is gone now but we may build another. We have been using a wall tent and stove for weekend outings but even that is changing with the guys bringing portable cots, gas heaters, barbeques etel. Most won't come out if it is below freezing, just too much work. Still it is a joy to be in the marsh on a wind blown day with birds with weather bred wind driving them past in the rain, sleet and snow. I did convert one member to my approach and he laughs most of the time at the fun he is having. My sons will join me this year ( or that is the plan ) and we will enjoy some old camp style comraderie some fun filled kidding and a pull at the oars in the predawn.

From what I can remember, our new Cabela's and it's huge parking lot may have paved it's way over some of the area's traditional duck and goose hunting grounds.
Times maybe changin', but it doesn't mean I have to!
Gotta get the most, from the duck seasons left to you.
Don't rush the seconds you have.

slate: Alberta is one of the last best places on earth in my opinion, the duck hunting is great but the people are even better. Alberta is the way my dad and grandfather remember my east coast home, trusting, friendly, down to earth folks. I hunted the Stettler area a few years back and smile every time I think of it. I am sure Alberta is changing fast with all the energy money and new Canadians. Lowell has it right times are a changin, but we don't have to.

Lowell,
For the last three years I've been privileged to hunt ducks on the Cache River in Arkansas with friends who own some land there. I take my HE Fox each year with three-inch Bismuth loads. We hunt a blind that is on a crook of the river that has been in place and hunted since the 1930's. We put the boat in at the public landing and pass right by a blind called Trapper's Island on the way in and out. Nash Buckingham killed ducks on this same spot with his big Foxes. Much tradition thereabouts. The boats and dekes look different than in Nash's day, but at least one gun, the swamp, the ducks and the some of the men are cut from the same cloth.

Thanks for starting the thread.

These are great stories about great places. My "duck club" is mostly devoted to fishing nowadays but "Ocean Pond Fishing and Hunting Club" has been around since the 1890s. The clubhouse was built in 1904. The water includes 5 natural lakes and marsh totaling some 750 acres. Most of the land has been sold over the years because it was too expensive to hold. The birds are mostly ringnecks or woodies, but I've shot some of about everything over the last 50 years I've hunted Ocean Pond.

The early members traveled from Macon and Valdosta by train to Lake Park and were ferried from the railroad station to the clubhouse by a small steam-yacht. There are pictures of the steam boat and the premises in the clubhouse. My grandfather bought his share in 1919 when he settled in Valdosta after returning from France after WW-1.

The clubhouse and it's cooks/caretakers are famous in Georgia for fine cuisine. Fishing is outstanding.

The main lake drained itself in 1993 when a sinkhole went out. I walked the lake bed while it was dry and found old sunken cypress plank boats in perfect shape, lots of arrowheads, tons of anchors, two old tackle boxes complete with old wooden lures, a dugout conoe dateing back to Indian days and numerous other Indian artifacts.

One of my sons needed a science project at the time and he and I went to one area where I had found the bottom covered with what I thought were Indian pottery shards. We picked up a bucket of pottery pieces for the science project and noticed that most of the pottery was glazed with a green finish on the inside. It turned out that this was Spanish Olive Jar instead of Indian pottery. I discussed the find with our local University archeologist and the find led to the rediscovery of a Spanish Mission which was known from Church archives in Spain but the location of which had been unknown. The mission dated from the 1500s but had been "lost" for 400 years.

Sorry for the long post, but I thought this might be of interest...Geo

My club was formed in 1923 by a small group from San Antonio and has been in continuous operation since that time. Located on the middle Texas coast in years when the prairie is dry and the cold fronts are frequent our shooting for Redheads, Pintails, Gadwall, Widgeon, and Teal can be "like the old days" . When I first hunted at St. Charles over 30 years ago the sought after strap was 10 Bull Sprig and many was the day that such straps where produced. Now i realize 10 ducks a day are too many and a full limit is not the primary goal. We are also blessed with fine fishing of Speckled Trout (Spotted Sea Trout) and Red Fish (Red Drum) not only in the off season but all through the year. During the season if the weather is not right for shooting it is likely that it is perfect for fishing. If you care to please visit our website: stcharlesbayclub.com

Duck hunting can be a rough on your constitution - wild game in wet places. One needs to ward off the elements with a comfy fire, and a dash o' something stonge in nice surroundings.
Btw, this lodge was just miles from downtown St. Louis - a short train ride and your outta the choking city and onto the ponds!