Early 1900s Postcard Of Washtenaw Golf Club

I recently acquired another early 1900s postcard of the original clubhouse at Washtenaw Golf Club in Ypsilanti, Michigan (two other Washtenaw post cards here, and here).

There is no date, but I have seen other photos from the 1889 – 1913 period that show the same clubhouse and the distinctive bridge over Paint Creek. The clothing that the women are wearing are turn-of-the-century styles.

There’s also no information to identify the women, but I think it possible that one is charter member DeLynn Whitmire, whom I have seen posing at the bridge in other photos.

Of the ninety-nine charter members, eleven were women. That strikes me as unusual for the period. But perhaps Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor were more progressive communities (in the early 1900s sense of the word) than some others. Without naming names, there are Michigan clubs that didn’t allow women members until the 1970s or later.

The clubhouse was just off the rail line that ran down what now is Packard Road. Early accounts report people riding the rail from Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to play at the club, which was one of the stops.

On this postcard, Washtenaw golf club is identified as being in Ann Arbor, instead of Ypsilanti. I am unsure where the Ypsilanti city boundaries were in those days, but I am positive that the club was not in the Ann Arbor city boundaries.

Another postcard I found incorrectly identifies the course as the Ypsilanti Country Club.

I get the feeling that the printers making these cards were not exactly sticklers for editorial accuracy.