The Boathouse Club

A Short History

In 1877, the Capitol Hotel was opened after extensive remodeling of the Denkla Building. It was in this hostelry that a group of young men gathered to discuss how to spend their leisure time; in other words, a group of bored, young guys was hanging out inside the swell new hotel to stay cool. It was during this conversation that the idea for an athletic club, to include rowing, was hatched. The young men continued to gather at a men’s store located in the Capitol Hotel - Bernays & Maxwell - to firm up their idea.

In 1882 the Little Rock Athletic Association was formerly organized. P.H. Bernays was elected President. This was the first effort in Little Rock to organize a boat club. By 1883, the club had 125 members. The group charged $25 annual membership dues. With the dues that were collected, the club was able to purchase all the equipment it needed. Soon after, a wood frame clubhouse was built on the bank of the Arkansas River at the foot of Main Street.

The clubhouse was kept open from 5:00 a.m. – midnight. New officers elected were: Dr. J.W. Beidelman, president; H.H. Rottaker and P.H. Bernays, vice-presidents; William C. Stevens, secretary-treasurer; J. M. Dill, captain; Hugh Barclay and T. B. Rawlings lieutenants. The club had a board comprised of 10 members. In addition to rowing, the group fielded a football team which competed across the South.

Since the boathouse was the gathering place for these 100+ young men to gather, the name Boathouse Club became widely used in place of Little Rock Athletic Association. Sadly, this first boathouse burned in November of 1887 as a result of a fire in the Union Cotton Compress located next door.

A new, much finer Boathouse was erected at the site of the original boathouse. In 1890, the structure and equipment were valued at $10,532. The football team was formed once again (team members included: Lucien Farrell, H. W. Hennigan, Gus Remmel, Charles Baltzell, George Lowry, Forrest Croxon, W.G. Hutton, John Counts, Angelo Marre, F.P. Wells and Arthur Counts). In addition to rowing and football, the club held vaudeville and minstrel revues, dances, and an aquatic show complete with swimming and diving competition. An annual cotillion was presented each year honoring the local debutantes.

During World War I the Boathouse was leased by the U.S. government to house officers and men stationed at Little Rock for training. The Boathouse also enjoyed the visits of many famous athletes. One such athlete was Bob Fitzsimmons, who was the heavyweight champion of the world. Fitzsimmons fought H.W. Hennigin, the Little Rock champion in a four-bout exhibition match.

The Boathouse hosted an annual Labor Day regatta. Crews would choose one of the popular debutantes of the season as their “sponsor” and use her name as the team’s name. Crew names mentioned were the Gertie Remmell crew, the Frances Williams crew and the Eleanor Townsend crew.

Gertie Remmell crew: Dave Terry, Gilbert Leigh, Freeman Holman, Ed Wyatt, Jack Smith and Bill Barbee; coxswain C.T. Wells.

Frances Townsend crew: Harold Harder, William Powell, James Hornibrook, Francis Holt, William S. Mitchell, William L. Tedford; coxswain Howard Stebbin, Jr.

Eleanor Townsend crew: Tom Fletcher, Jr., David D. Terry, Lex Helms, James Welch, Cooper Jacoway, Dr. Mahlon Ogden, Tom Fletcher; coxswain Emmett Rodman.

On April 13, 1938, fire again destroyed the Boathouse. Spectators by the hundreds lined the Main Street Bridge to watch the fire. Hundreds of photos, trophies and mementos were lost. The loss was estimated at $35,000.

Tentative plans were made to rebuild, but members began to withdraw from the club. The Great Depression was still being felt and support to rebuild waned. The last four members of the Boathouse Club were Dave Terry, John F. Geister, Joe House and Jim Porter. The year was 1945.

Information for this short history was taken from a July 23, 1972 article which appeared in the Arkansas Gazette. If you are interested in reading the entire article, you may locate it in the archives of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on their website, or visit the Butler Center at the Main Library in Little Rock, AR.