Shady Rest Survey - 10/11/24

Shady Rest Country Club, also known as Scotch Hills, is originally an eighteenth-century structure located at 820 Jerusalem Road in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. With a rich history as a farmhouse turned tavern, and then a country club and golf course, Shady Rest was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. The property includes an early 9-hole golf course totaling 2,247 yards from the longest tees making a par 33. The course rating is 33.3 and has a slope rating of 106 on blue grass. On the property is also a modern pro shop, pavilion, public parking lot, and miniature golf course. The entire 27-acre property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Situated between Jerusalem Road and Plainfield Avenue, Shady Rest retains a suburban setting on the edge of the Township of Scotch Plains. Barton Ross & Partners, LLC Architects first prepared a Preservation Plan for the rehabilitation of the Clubhouse in 2013, when the building was threatened with imminent demolition. Today the Township and the nonprofit Preserve Shady Rest Committee are undertaking the next phase of study for how the historic property and grounds can best benefit the community. This work is being funded through grants from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and donations from community members and businesses.

To ensure public input is central to the plan, an online survey has been created to capture feedback and help shape future use of the Clubhouse and surrounding golf course grounds.  

Historical Significance:

Shady Rest is significant as one of the first African American country clubs established in the United States, operating from 1921 to 1964. Founded at a time and operating during volatile periods of segregation and prohibition, Shady Rest was a country club for an emerging Black middle class with an elite membership, offering golf, tennis, skeet shooting, equestrian sports, as well as dining and musician entertainment which drew audiences from across the region, attracting all-star athletes such as John Shippen Jr—America’s first pro golfer—and Althea Neale Gibson—a leading figure in women’s tennis and golf. Listed in the Green Book, Shady Rest attracted top performers including Louise Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn. When the club’s ownership met with financial hardship, the Township of Scotch Plains took ownership of the property, renaming it Scotch Hills and overseeing its operation as a recreational resource to residents.

Online Public Survey:

This online survey is one of the assessment tools the project team will use to engage a broad community in considering ways to restore and provide recreational services at   the Shady Rest Clubhouse and the surrounding grounds. We seek your participation in order to understand the best approach and recommendations that will be made to the Township of Scotch Plains and the Preserve Shady Rest Committee as to how this historic house and its surrounding grounds could be restored to support recreational activities and cultural appreciation of Scotch Plains history.

Click here to fill out the online survey.

Survey Questions:

1. How familiar are you with the Shady Rest Clubhouse and surrounding grounds?

      I’ve seen the clubhouse from the road but have never been inside.

      I am quite familiar with the Shady Rest Clubhouse and have been in the house.

      I have never noticed the clubhouse from the street or been inside.

      I only use the course for golfing and do not know the history of the clubhouse.

      Other:                                                                                                                                   

2. I am familiar with John Shippen Jr. (1879-1968), America’s first pro golfer to compete In the US Open and resident pro and grounds manager at Shady Rest:

      No, I have not heard of him.

      Yes, I am familiar with his significance to the clubhouse and in professional golf.

      Comments:                                                                                                                    

3. What could be the different uses for the ballroom of the Shady Rest Clubhouse:

      Community Meeting Space

      Rent to a non-profit organization

      Special Events Venue

      Musical performances

      Other:

4. What amenities would you like to see expanded at the Shady Rest Clubhouse?

      Non-profit organizational offices

      Additional museum spaces with displays and exhibits

      Dining or food service

5. If the upper floors were restored and open to the public as interpreted historic living quarters and guest accommodations telling the story of Shady Rest, would you be interested in visiting the space?

      Yes, I would like to see how John Shippen experienced the space.

      No, I would not be interested.

      Comments:

6. Shady Rest used to have a bar, or “Speakeasy” in the basement and the original tin ceiling is still present, would you want the bar to be restored?

      Yes, I think that would be a neat feature and would visit

      No, I would not be interested in recreating a bar in the basement.

      Comments: