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Amackassin Club is a privately owned pool and tennis club established in 1888 in Yonkers, New York.

Contents

• History
• Major Amackassin Tennis Tournaments and Tennis Events
• Amackassin Club Championships
• Amackassin Men's Singles Club Champions
• Amackassin Women's Singles Club Champions
• References
• External links

History

In 1887 the owners of a piece of land on North Broadway (later the site of Commerce High School and today the site of Yonkers' Palisade Preparatory School) agreed to fill in the foundation of the former Peabody House hotel, which had burned down, and build Yonkers' first clay tennis court.  The court became a popular place for young people to play tennis and socialize. ^[1]  

In June 1888, twenty nine tennis players voted to form the "Yonkers Lawn Tennis Club". In 1891, the club moved to a leased site on the northeast corner of Palisade and Glenwood Avenues. Three courts were laid out (with a fourth added later) and a hose from a nearby member's house provided water. In 1892, the membership wanted something more permanent than the leased site and the storage box. A committee recommended that the club purchase an acre and a half on Palisade Avenue from John H. Lewis for $8,000. The committee also recommended that a clubhouse be immediately be erected.  In March 1893, the sixty or so members at the meeting adopted the committee's report, although some thought the location too remote as it was about a 1/2 mile to the north. The clubhouse was designed by architect G. Howard Chamberlain (who also designed Philipsburgh Hall on Hudson Street) and was completed with amazing speed. . ^[1] On New Year's Day 1894 the new clubhouse hosted a grand opening party ^[2] that was noted in the New York Times.  In 1897, the club name was officially changed to "Amackassin Club." ^[3]

In 1955, the club added a swimming pool to help increase membership. It opened on July 2, 1955. ^[4]

On September 6, 2018, the clubhouse was struck by lighting. ^[5] The fire and water damage resulted in the interior needing 90% replacement. Although the Clubhouse was not available for a number of years, the Six Red Clay Tennis Courts, Swimming Pool and Paddle Court were available to the membership and their guests. The clubhouse restoration project was delayed mostly due to the COVID era and was not reopened until May 27th, 2022. ^[6] The bar was re-opened on July 1, 2022. During that time, membership dropped due to COVID and no clubhouse but since the reopening, membership has increased and Tennis has done very well. The club has 5 interclub tennis teams.

Major Amackassin Tennis Tournaments and Tennis Events

• The Amackassin Club Championships which have been held starting from 1888 to the present day
• The A mackassin Club Invitation was an open invitational tournament from 1890 to 1935. For the first year, only one other local club was invited but it soon expanded to invite many clubs or players throughout the Hudson River area. In 1917 and for a number of years afterwards, the Amackassin Club hosted the Eastern New York State Championship Tournament where the top players in the country took part. At least four Amackassin Invitation Title holders were later inducted to the International Hall of fame. That is, Francis Hunter, Vincent Richards, Elisabeth Moore, Marie Wagner. Marie Wagner also won four Amackassin Club Women's Singles Championship Titles as an Amackassin member as shown within this article. Both Richards and Wagner lived in Yonkers, just minutes from the Amackassin Club.
• The Amackassin Club hosted the Eastern Girls Championship from 1932 to 1954. In 1955, matches were shifted to the Yonkers Racquet Club from the annual site at the Amackassin Club which replaced its regular courts with a swimming pool. ^[7]
• The 1929, ^[8] 1930, ^[9] 1931 ^[10] New York State Junior Singles Championship Tournament
• A number of Exhibition Matches where the top players showed their greatness. At least 15 players that participated in the various exhibition matches were later inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Amackassin Club Championships

The Amackassin Men's Singles Tournament which started in 1888 is one of the oldest, if not the oldest Amateur Tennis Tournament in the United States. It is also possible that the Amackassin Women's Tournament which started in 1889 is one of the oldest if not the oldest Amateur Women's Tournaments in the United states.

The Amackassin Clubhouse walls have four plaques displaying the Club Champions from the 1888 tournament to the current day. Along with the giant wall plaques, the Men's Singles Championship Bowl is now over 75 years old engraved with the winners since 1950. The Women's Cup is engraved with the results from 1970 onward. The Junior Boys Cup dates back to 1929.

The Championship Finals are held each year, and for more than the last 70 years they have been held over Labor Day Weekend. In 2025, the preliminary matches were played in July and August while the seventeen finals were played over the Labor Day Weekend.

Amackassin Men's Singles Club Champions

Amackassin Women's Singles Club Champions

References

External links

• Amackassin Club
• Marie Wagner
• Vincent Richards
• Francis Hunter
• Elisabeth Moore