EXLINE -- Babe Ruth came to these parts to hunt wild turkeys. So did radio's Amos and Andy. Boxer Gene Tunney came, too, and bagged a pheasant or two. And President Franklin D. Roosevelt -- not to mention five other presidents -- spent a lazy afternoon here fishing.
They are among the many statesmen, athletes and entertainers, not to mention executives and others, who have hunted or fished among the wooded ridges and ravines of the 3,240-acre Woodmont Rod and Gun Club, a outdoorsman's paradise near Sideling Hill in mountainous western Washington County. The celebrities are part of the legacy of the club, a hunting retreat that was formed several years after the Civil War and then reorganized at the turn of the century by industrialists from Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Washington.
The club survives, but finds itself today with an uncertain future.
Its membership is dwindling.
Changes in tax laws -- limiting write-offs for entertainment expenses -- have kept away prospective corporate sponsors and members, Woodmont officials say.
So stockholders in the 124-year-old club are looking to sell the place -- clubhouse, trophies, mementos and all -- to the state of Maryland.
"What we're trying to do is keep everything intact," said William F. Park, an accountant who is assistant secretary and treasurer of the club. "Because of its history, we think that everybody should be able to enjoy the place. We want to open it up and let everybody have an idea of and all -- to the state of Maryland.
"What we're trying to do is keep everything intact," said William F. Park, an accountant who is assistant secretary and treasurer of the club. "Because of its history, we think that everybody should be able to enjoy the place. We want to open it up and let everybody have an idea of what it was like here at the turn of the century."
Maryland officials are definitely interested. They like the vast acreage of woods and the club's proximity to state and federal lands, including the Sideling Hill Wildlife Management Area, abandoned rail beds (being developed for trails) and the Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Canal, which runs parallel to the Potomac below the clubhouse.
"You'll find very few large undisturbed tracts of that size in the state, particularly one so critically positioned among other state projects," said Mike Nelson, deputy assistant secretary for public lands and forestry in the state Department of Natural Resources.
To buy the Woodmont club, the state is negotiating with the Conservation Fund, a nonprofit group based in Arlington, Va., that works with public and private agencies to protect land and ** water. The Conservation Fund has signed a contract with a majority of the private corporation's approximately 30 shareholders and is contacting others, said Jack Lynn, a senior associate for the group.
The state is prohibited from buying private stock, but is permitted to buy the club from the fund. Once the fund assumes ownership of the corporation, the property will be sold to Maryland, Mr. Lynn said. DNR officials are expected to bring the proposal before the state Board of Public Works, which has final approval over the purchase, before the end of the year, Mr. Nelson said.
None of the parties involved will divulge the preserve's possible price. The property is assessed at about $900,000, however.
No plans yet
Mr. Lynn said DNR officials have no plans yet on how to use the property, but he could envision the club's lodge -- a massive stone and wood structure built out of materials from club grounds -- as a bed and breakfast-type inn that the public could use.
"The club itself is almost like a museum," Mr. Nelson said. "Six U.S. presidents have enjoyed themselves there. It's a complex of cultural and historical resources. Opportunities like this don't come along very often."
True. Step inside the lodge from its stone-arched porch and you'll walk in a 15-foot-wide hall adorned with stuffed trophies, ax-hewn beams overhead and walls of natural wood. A massive buffalo head stares from a fireplace at the opposite end of the hallway.
On each side of the hallway are 40-foot-by-40-foot rooms with the same ax-hewn beams above and natural wood walls. Both feature stone fireplaces -- each fireplace named after a stone gleaned from history, such as George Washington's surveying expeditions in nearby West Virginia or a British general's camp on the preserve.
A mounted white-tailed deer stands at the dining room entrance. Walls are covered with pictures of forests scenes, mounted animals and rare illustrations by James Audubon. Two dining tables -- that seat 36 -- dominate the room. Hunters still show up here every morning for breakfast and every evening for the traditional pheasant dinner.
Leather-covered chairs, mahogany tables and wrought-iron chandeliers are found in the lounge. Stuffed animals, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, antelope and boar, adorn walls. A bearskin rug lies on the floor in a corner near the fireplace.
The lodge was built in 1930 after the club outgrew a nearby building, now in ruins. Much of the club's memorabilia, including guest registers, pictures of famous guests and members, can be found in the library and card room.
Of particular interest is a hickory-wood rocking chair used by the six presidents. Their names are engraved on brass plaques on the chair's arm: Roosevelt, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland and Herbert Hoover.
'Delightful visit'
During a tour of the Woodmont property, Roosevelt remarked to his host, Henry P. Bridges, who later wrote a book about the club called "The Woodmont Story," that he had "never seen anything like it." Before he left, Roosevelt signed the guest register: "In memory of a delightful visit."
Other presidents have visited -- including Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter -- but not while in office. Teddy Roosevelt was invited; a letter from him declining the invitation because he could not fit it into his schedule is displayed in the library.
A wide stairway leads to the second floor, where 15 rooms, sleeping 38 people, can be found. The rooms are sparsely decorated and contain two, three, four, even eight beds, dorm style. Some rooms recently have been redecorated with paneling, oak footlockers and plush carpeting. The third floor is an attic.
The vast acreage around the lodge is mix of wooded hills and ravines between two ridges. The landscape affords sweeping views of the Western Maryland countryside. And the game -- white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and pheasant -- still is plentiful.
The Woodmont still raises its own wild turkeys and pheasant and claims to be responsible for the abundant wild turkey population in this part of Washington County.
Its hunting practices -- though deemed safe and legal by members -- have been a source of occasional controversy. Guides accompany hunters to spots in the woods, where they wait while others flush out deer. Caged fowl are released just before a hunt, flying into the path of waiting hunters. Everyone gets a shot at something.
Venison and apples
And everyone breaks for lunch at Camp Cleveland, a pair of cabins deep in the woods -- named after President Cleveland, who was a frequent Woodmont visitor. Hunters are served venison, fried apples, potatoes and homemade apple butter -- the same midday meal that has been served to hunters for decades.
It is not without some sense of sadness that members are letting go of traditions that, for many, have been part of their family histories. Some families have been Woodmont members for generations. And many a Washington County family can recall a father, grandfather or great-grandfather taking part in a hunt there.
"We could liquidate the place and come up with more money," said Mr. Park, who became a member in 1977. "But no one wants to see it liquidated. We thought it was a good compromise to sell to the state.
"We want everyone to be able to enjoy this place. We want to see that President's Chair stay just where it is."