Today it is possible to visit the lands of the Sulfolk Club, South Side Sportmen’s Club and the Wyandanch Club. The Sulfolk Club and the South Side Sportsmen’s Club are by far the more famous of the three clubs and their stories are well known. The Wyandanch Club, was another prominent trout angler’s club dating to 1872 several miles north of the South Side Sportmen’s Club. Like the Suffolk Club and South Side Sportsmen’s Club, the Wyandanch Club owned land and a club house. In this case, a 543 acre section of the Nissequogue River complete with its own set of mill ponds. The Wyandanch Club then inspired the twelve-member Nissequogue Club in the same watershed in the late 1880s. Because they apparently did not have enough mill dams on their property, they dammed the river by building special tide floodgates. The motivation for the impoundment was purely to improve the trout fishing, once again at the expense of fish migration.
When looking at their legacy as land conservationists, it is worth trying to understand how and why wealthy fishing clubs transferred their land to the public sector. Both the South Side Sportmen’s Club and Wyandanch Club sold the land to the state in 1963 for tax reasons, but then leased it back for an additional ten years as an exclusive resort. This state sponsored tax dodge eventually ended and the state completely took over both clubs in 1973. In the case of the Suffolk Club, it was purchased outright in 1923 by one of the members, but he was later forced by family members to sell the property to the county. Based on how the land finally fell into public land, the outcome was purely accidental. Luckily, the lands are now protected for the public to enjoy.
When looking at their legacy as land conservationists, it is worth trying to understand how and why wealthy fishing clubs transferred their land to the public sector. Both the South Side Sportmen’s Club and Wyandanch Club sold the land to the state in 1963 for tax reasons, but then leased it back for an additional ten years as an exclusive resort. This state sponsored tax dodge eventually ended and the state completely took over both clubs in 1973. In the case of the Suffolk Club, it was purchased outright in 1923 by one of the members, but he was later forced by family members to sell the property to the county. Based on how the land finally fell into public land, the outcome was purely accidental. Luckily, the lands are now protected for the public to enjoy.