Nick Stoner Municipal Golf Course

The Caroga Recreation Park was built on the land previously a part of a thriving community from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s. Wheelerville, named after Jonathan Wheeler, was the site of a tannery run by Wheeler and his partner William Claflin. The story of the Wheeler Claflin tannery has been told elsewhere.  Barbara McMartin in her Caroga book (pp. 32-44) presents an account. Dudley Dennison Fincke has also contributed a webpage to the topic.

It is interesting to look at pictures of the tannery site to see the land and structures that will become a part of the Caroga Recreation Park.

The building encircled in red was the tannery's barn and would become the Nick Stoner Inn while the building encircled in blue was the company store and became the clubhouse and for a while the town hall. It burnt in 2020.  Another photograph taken from what would become the 18th fairway looks north:

The row of structures in the distance were houses for the workers. Two of these structures still exist. What is striking about these pictures is how deforested the land is.

An article in the January 13, 1925 edition of the Amsterdam Evening Recorder reports a gift of land by Cyrus Durey to the Town of Caroga. The article talks about the development of Caroga as a resort community. The article touts the advantages of the Caroga and Canada Lake areas: the natural beauty of the lakes and mountains and the proximity of populations centers. The development of automobiles and creation of roads made the lakes much more accessible. The article acknowledges the absence of recreational opportunities as a hindrance to its development as a resort. It is reported that Governor Miller had intended to vacation in the area until he learned there was no golf course in the area.

To remedy this situation Cy Durey offered to give the town a 100-acre tract to create a municipal recreation park for the benefit of the town residents and to attract visitors. The strong public support in subsequent votes endorsing bond issues is an indication of the town's endorsement of Durey's plan. A January 1925 survey delineates this property.

The gift is finalized with a deed dated July 1, 1925. The description of the lands covered by the deed comprise "78.08 acres of land." All of the land described is on the east side of the highway.  The discrepancy between the 78.08 recorded in the deed and the 100 acres reported in the newspaper accounts is perhaps explained by an additional 23.20 acres of land on the west side of the highway that would form part of the back nine that would be developed in 1930. There would be a later legal dispute over these lands as to whether they were part of the gift or did Durey intend to be compensated for these lands. Durey apparently never finalized his intentions for these additional lands before his death in 1933.

The terms of the 1925 deed require the Town to maintain the lands "exclusively as a golf course and for other recreational purposes." If these terms are not met the land would revert to the property of "Cyrus Durey, his heirs and assigns."

As part of the agreement with the Town, taxpayers were asked to approve a $40,000 bond to cover the cost of the development of the property with "the construction of a golf course and other means of providing recreation." Newspaper accounts laud residents for their strong endorsement of the bond. A Utica Daily Press article from October 12, 1925 reports: "Although towns would hardly be expected to finance an undertaking of this sort, the Caroga people were so impressed by its possibilities for the future that there were only five votes against the resolution authorizing the bond issue."

A commission was established to oversee the development of the Recreation Park. It was lead by Cyrus Durey with Richard Evans and Burt Z. Kasson as members. During the 1925 season land was cleared for the greens and fairways. Tennis courts were also laid out and backstops erected.

A December 26, 1930 Morning Herald article published a report of the Park Commissioners. It recounts the objective of the original donation to create a public recreation park. The report states:  "Every city and many other municipalities now maintain parks and recreation places, often at great expense. They have become a necessary part of the expense of government. How much more necessary parks are to a town like Caroga, whose only business is the catering to vacationists."

The creation of the golf course was seen as part of a democratizing of the sport with the development of municipal golf courses. The 1930 report speaks to this: "...golf has been the rich man's game confined to expensive country clubs unavailable for men and women of small means. It was felt that if it could be made reasonable in cost as to bring it within the reach of this multitude a most desirable end would be served."

From the outset the creation of the Recreation Park was seen as a boon to the development of Caroga as a resort community. New summer residents were expected to purchase lots and build new cottages and this activity would increase the property values throughout the community. Cy Durey was lauded for his vision as reported in the Evening Recorder article:

It was Mr. Durey who conceived this plan of developing the lake section and his generosity in giving to the town the land necessary to carry out the project cannot be too highly commended. It is concrete evidence that he has the interests of his fellow townsmen at heart and is possessed of a philanthropic turn of mind backed up by deeds instead of words. The people of the town of Caroga in the years to come will have just cause to appreciate in full what has been done for them by Cyrus Durey.

Barbara McMartin in her Caroga book (p. 217) states that the first six holes of the course were ready for play in 1925. This is contradicted by contemporary newspaper accounts.  A July 3, 1926 Times-Union article reports the deferral of the opening of the course due to the lack of development of the course. It was expected that the course would be opened in a few weeks "when ground conditions would be favorable."

The article makes clear that the Recreation Park was designed as a multi-sport venue. Golf and tennis matches as well as a baseball game were planned for the opening celebration.  "The new athletic field contains ...acres. It will have one of the finest golf courses in the state in addition to tennis courts and baseball diamond ...purpose is to provide opportunities for the popular outdoor sports."

To date no newspaper record has been found to confirm that the course was opened in 1926. The newspaper record in fact suggests that the course was not opened for play until 1927.  A Fort Plain Standard article dated October 28, 1926 reports the approval by the Town by a vote of 64 to 14 for an additional $30,000 bond issue for the completion of the course. The article goes on to state; "During the present season [1926] the first seven holes on the course have been completed and will be ready for use in the spring of 1927." Does this phrasing mean that play did not begin until the spring of 1927?  Since we know that players did not have to pay greens fees until 1928, it is possible that the course was open for informal play in 1926.

Barbara McMartin includes in her Caroga book (pp.217-219) an interesting account by long-time resident Dot Leavitt of the early years of the course before greens fees:

We shot from the first tee to the ninth green for the seventh hole. It was a free for all, no green's fees; and it really was a Free for All. Since 90% of the players were novices, they thought that by yelling FORE they had the right to hit anywhere, anytime.

The roughs were truly that, and the woods surrounding the greens and fairways were all natural and beautiful. There were great swaths of deep hay between some fairways, where players spent much time looking for lost balls. The young pro tried to keep order, but there were plenty of hassles....."

A September 8, 1927 Fort Plain Standard article announced that a seven-hole course had been opened for play: "The fairways are somewhat rough but, with another season's work, a fine course should be completed."  The article goes on to report that two additional holes will be added and a nine-hole course were intended to be open for play in 1928. The Fort Plain paper acknowledges how it was "unique" that the project was made by the township of Caroga.

The following collection of photographs were shared by Barb DeLuca and came from the family of Cy Durey. While not dated, the photographs likely come from the 1920s. Even for life-time players of the course, the photos can be disorienting since the trees have changed. An attempt has been made to identify the location of the photos. Corrections would be appreciated.  The 1925 survey is useful in trying to identify the locations.

1928 was a pivotal year in the history of the golf course. A March 20 1928 article in the Amsterdam Evening Recorder reports that Fred Allen who had been the pro at Sir William Johnson County Club and Sacandaga was secured as the professional for the Caroga Recreation Park. The article goes on to say: "Securing of a professional golfer to have charge of the new course at Wheelerville ... marks the culmination of a project launched three years ago to provide a recreation park in the town of Caroga...." Allen would serve as pro through the 1929 season to be replaced by Channing Floyd in 1930.

1928 also marked the completion of a nine hole course with the last two holes constructed in 1927. After two years of free golf, in 1928 greens fees and season passes were introduced. The 1929 Commissioners' Report records that 110 season passes were issued in 1928 with 461 daily passes, and 356 weekend and holiday passes. Dot Leavitt's account in the Caroga book states that a season pass in 1928 cost $25 for men and $10 for women.

As a sign of the established status of the course in 1928 the Curt Teich company issued three postcards of the course:

The creation of a clubhouse was a part of the original plans for the Recreation Park. An October 12, 1925 article in the Utica Daily Press reporting the donation of the land for the creation of a golf course speaks of plans for a club house "with suitable locker space and facilities for meals."  The July 3, 1926 Times-Union article states that "the clubhouse is not yet finished but will be in a few weeks."  In October of 1926 the Fort Plain Standard article reports that the clubhouse "will...be ready for occupancy in the near future." The following year the same paper reports that the clubhouse had been open for the public for several weeks. The article later observes that "The club house will have a restaurant and a fine dance floor. It will also have rooms for golfers, dressing rooms, etc." A March 1928 Morning Herald article states "The club house is nearing completion and is expected to be ready during the early part of the season." It is interesting to note that the Teich postcard showing what we know as the Inn identifies it as "Caroga Recreation Club House," and not the "Nicholas Stoner Country Club Club House" which it would become in 1928.

The Nick Stoner monument was the capstone of Cy Durey's desire to give Caroga a sense of civic identity. Eberly Hutchinson, long time Canada Lake resident and State Assemblyman, would write:

It is doubtful whether there would be any memorial of Caroga's ancestral hero other than Simms' pages and Stoner's tombstone had it not been for the interest in local antiquity of the late Cyrus Durey, and his desire to add historic appeal to the natural charms of our region. It was Mr. Durey who rechristened the charming little lakes about four miles north of us, which had always been known as Stink Lakes with the more euphonious name of Stoner. It was Mr. Durey who insisted that the pretty islet in this lake [Canada], long known by vague and varied appellations, should be call Stoner's Island.

Durey would write a biographical sketch about Nick Stoner. He introduces his essay with: "Every large or small community, both of civilized and barbarous men, has its traditionary heroes. The memories of some one person or other, who in his time stood out sharply from his fellows....Among those who do, is Major Nicholas Stoner, a pioneer’s son, a patriot soldier in his youth and middle age, and a lifelong hunter and trapper. "

American towns and cities would commission statues to honor their local heroes. Cy Durey initiated the project to create a memorial to Nick Stoner. He secured from the state Department of Education funds given by the legislature for public memorials as well as money from the Fulton County Board of Supervisors to create a bronze statue of Nick Stoner.  A July, 1929 Morning Herald article mentions the strong endorsement of the project by the community "to pay tribute to their fellow townsman."

The Nick Stoner statue is the work of Joseph P. Pollia. He and his family emigrated from Sicily to the United States in 1896. Pollia grew up in Boston where he attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. He devoted his career as a sculptor to the creation of public monuments and war memorials. One of his most famous statues is the monument to Stonewall Jackson on the battle field of Manassas or Bull Run.

The statue commemorates the pivotal moment in the battle when General Barnard Bee, pointing to the stalwart figure of Jackson astride his horse, shouts, "Look men, there stands Jackson like a stone wall. Rally behind the Virginians." He also created at statue of John Brown in North Elba. He was very prolific as an artist creating monuments in many cities and towns in the northeast including Utica with a statue of General Pulaski near the intersection of Memorial Highway and Oneida Street.

Eberly Hutchinson puts Pollia's work in art historical context:

It is the figure of a stalwart young man, clad in deerskins; quiet, earnest, and resolute as he looks on the mountain wilderness about him. In the pose, in proportions, there is something vaguely reminiscent of classic art, a suggestion of a figure modeled in Phidian days or in that tradition of the Greek reborn in fifteenth century Italy. And if you look longer with an eye familiar with renaissance statues, you will see that, divested of his deer skin raiment, the young man before you is Michael Angelo's David as he stands in the Academia at Florence or in larger replica on the height of San Miniato above the city. I spoke of this resemblance to Pollia and he was pleased by my observation, and we agreed that the mood expressed in David, as he faces, sling in hand, his giant opponent, is properly that of the young pioneer staring on the wilderness which he must conquer.

Hutchinson rightly sees the affinity of the Nick Stoner statue to works of the Classical tradition of Greek art. The reference to "Phidian" is to Phidias who was believed to have been the sculptor responsible for the Parthenon, the epitome of the Greek Classical tradition. The balanced stance with its differentiation between weight bearing and free leg was a hallmark of the Classical period as exemplified by the statue of the Doryphoros of Polykleitos from the middle of the fifth century BCE.

Hutchinson is certainly correct to see the connection between Pollia's statue and the David of Michelangelo. Both have the same weight-shift pose derived from Classical Antiquity and both have the same intensity as they gaze intensely at a challenge. In the case of David, it is the giant Goliath; while for Nick Stoner it is the wilderness that spreads before him. The powerful physiques and hands are strikingly similar:

An August 22, 1929 article in the Morning Herald captures this sense of Nick Stoner as a force of civilization overcoming Indians and the wilderness: "Majestically the old Indian fighter stands with flint-lock in hand overlooking the old Stoner lands where long since the echo of the war whoop and the report of musket have given way to civilization. Imposingly viewing the land where the part of his life was passed, where wild animals abounded and the name of Stoner was as familiar to the redskin as it is to the student of history, the beautiful statue may be viewed by the passing automobilist as a lasting memory to all in emulating the deeds and life of Nicholas Stoner."   This employs a Western cultural code dating back to the classical Greek world of Phidias, who saw themselves as a force of civilization confronting barbarism. Cy Durey with his roads, dams, fire tower, and well-groomed golf course would have identified with this cultural code. In his speech at the dedication, the State Historian Dr. Alexander C. Flick would summarize Nick Stoner's accomplishments in terms that Cy Durey again would have identified with: "A true pioneer, he helped clear the land, to establish local rule by the people, and to build our homes, churches and schools.... His deeds in war, his fearless encounters with the Indians, his prowess as a hunter, his shrewdness as a trapper, his intelligence and homely wit, and his unusual age made him a local hero of note." 

The 1929 Commissioner's Report published in the November 30, 1929 issue of the Morning Herald touts the success of the fledgling golf course.  It documents the growth of interest in the course.  In 1929 there were 163 season passes compared to 110 in 1928. In 1929 there were 798 daily passes an increase over 461 in 1928. Weekend and holiday passes grew from 356 to 741.  Based on this success the decision was made to expand the course to eighteen holes.  On November 18, 1929 a special town meeting was called to approve the decision to expand. With only 4 negative votes the towns people endorsed the plan. The strong endorsement of the Town for the development of the Recreation Park is emphasized. A bond sale in the amount of $4,000 for the purchase of additional land and $14,000 for the laying out of the added holes was scheduled for the following May 15.

The land on the back nine north of the old school, what is now the Caroga Clinic, came from Cy Durey (yellow). The identification of the Durey lands is based on the 1937 survey.  The lands to the south were bought from other Caroga residents (turquoise). Deeds from mid April to mid August of 1930 record the acquisition by the Town of these southern lands. Pieces of land owned by Charles Mead, Elizabeth Richards, and Robert Wandel were required to lay out the additional holes. The total acreage of the back nine is 59.5 acres of which 23.2 acres came from Durey leaving the additional lands comprising 36.3 acres.

By December 1930, the Commissioners' Report announced : "The work has now been completed and the new course will be ready for play as soon as the growth of grasses on the fairways will permit." A July 1, 1931 Albany Times-Union article reported that the back nine would be open for play on Saturday, July 4.

A March 10, 1930 notice in the Morning Herald announced the appointment of Channing Floyd as the golf pro for the course, replacing Fred Allen who had left for Pasadena, California. Channing, who became known as the "dean of golf professionals in Eastern New York," was born in Chicago and moved to the New York City area as a young man. Chan as he was known moved to the Fulton County area prior to World War I and served for 15 years as professional at Sacandaga Park. He would be the professional at Nick Stoner for 16 years. He along with his brother James, who also was a golf professional, regularly played exhibition matches in the area.

By the end of his career Channing was credited with designing at least eight golf courses including Champlain Country Club now Harmony Golf Club (built in 1912 by Floyd and William Sussdorf), Lake Pleasant, Arcady Country Club in Lake George,  and the Homer Folks Hospital course in Oneonta. Arriving as pro in the Spring of 1930, Channing Floyd was responsible for designing the back nine of Nick Stoner. There is some question about whether Floyd designed the Lake Pleasant course or whether it was the responsibility of the famed golf course architect, Donald Ross. Channing's brother was the professional at Lake Pleasant while Channing served at Sacandaga. Golf aficionados have spoken of the similarity of the Nick Stoner back nine to Ross designs.

He authored a booklet entitled "The Little Golf Teacher," and in his spare time was an inventor designing a combined putter and cigarette lighter and a washing machine that both washes and dries golf balls.

With Channing Floyd as golf pro, the golf course began to sponsor tournaments and exhibitions. These were not just for local members but men's and women's tournaments would draw competitors from around the region. The most notable of these tournaments was the Cyrus Durey Cup which began in 1931. It was played each year from 1931 until 1947 with exception of the war years. This match play tournament would begin with a weekend qualifying round with the top sixteen going on to play for the cup.  The previous year's winner and runner-up would automatically qualify. A medal was awarded for the top qualifier.  Eighteen-hole match play elimination rounds played during the week would culminate in semi-finals and finals the following weekend. Regional papers would highlight the results with special emphasis on their local competitors. The tournament especially the semi-finals and finals would be well attended attracting rooters for their home town favorite. The cup was a traveling cup with the winner possessing the cup for the year. When a golfer won the tournament three times not necessarily consecutively the cup would be retired.  The first year winner in 1931, Francis Smith would go on to win the tournament two more times first in 1941 and then in 1947. As an indication of the local rivalries, the October 2, 1947 St Johnsville newspaper's headline announces hometown favorite Max Fowler was the runner-up and not that Francis Smith was able to retire the cup with his third victory.

The following is a list of winners and runners-up for the Cyrus Durey Cup:

• • 1931:         Francis Smith.           G. L. Lucas
  • 1932:         John Evans.               George Rohrs
  • 1933:         Gerald Lucas.            Ted Cassavant
  • 1934:         Fred Davis.                George Chapman
  • 1935:         Gerald Lucas.            Clarence Dunkel
  • 1936:         Vincent Norris.         Delos Walrath
  • 1937:         John Williamson.     Clarence Dunkel
  • 1938:        Vincent Norris.          Gerald Lucas
  • 1939:        Ted Cassavant.          John Williamson
  • 1940:       John Williamson.      Ted Cassavant
  • 1941:        Francis Smith.           Loren Cross
  • 1947:        Francis Smith.           Max Fowler

There would be other tournaments including periodically the Fulton County Amateur Tournament.  A June 30, 1936 Morning Herald article gives a list of the different tournaments scheduled for that year. There was scheduled a Ladies Day with women members of the Sir William Johnson Country Club, the Sacandaga Park Golf Club, and the Kingsboro Golf Club invited to play as guests. There was also the Nick Stoner Cup, a handicap tournament for club members as well as a Ladies Tournament for club members. In the late 50's to the 70s the golf club sponsored the Nick Stoner Falling Leaves tournament. The tournament was held at least 18 times with the last documented year 1976.

• Fred Allen (1928-1929)
• Channing Floyd (1930-1945)
• Larry Vidulick (1945)
• Bob Ray (1946-1950)
• Guy Farina (1951-1984)
• Steve Jennings (1985-2020)
• Steve Stedman (2021-present )

A July 11, 1938 article in the Leader Republican announces the formation of the Nick Stoner Golf Club. The article defines the purpose of the club: "The purpose of the new club is to promote social as well as golfing activities among men and women who play this popular lake course, and at the same time obtain for them the courtesies and privileges of other courses by affiliating with the United States Golf Association and the Eastern New York Golf Association."  A constitution and by-laws were adopted and a slate of officers and board of governors were elected. It was made clear that members of the existing Nick Stoner Club were eligible for membership in the new club with the payment of a nominal fee. The next year the officers were re-elected with the exception of Supervisor Howard Morey who declined re-election as treasurer since he was already the treasurer of the Caroga Recreation Park.  This documents the continued existence of the Caroga Recreation Park.  It is not clear how long the Nick Stoner Golf Club was in existence.  There is confusion about the distinction between the organization formed in 1938 and the Nick Stoner Club.