I’m posting this thread because a number of GCAers have discussed the possible location of the golf course for the Anglo-American Club. Yesterday, Alain Chaput, a Canadian gentleman who has a passion for locating the sites of golf courses built in his home country that have become lost over time, emailed me, as he has a number of times over the past decade. For one of these, the golf course of the Anglo-American Club, was designed by A. W. Tillinghast. Tilly included this project in his 1926 tri-fold advertising brochure. He also listed it as being 27-holes. The same brochure states that it was located at “Lac L’Achigan, Province of Quebec.”
In December, 1922, Tilly wrote an article titled, “Rough Going,” in which he stated, “The reference to rocky country calls to mind the professional visit recently made into the Province of Quebec, where the writer planned a course in the heart of the Laurentians.” He would mention visiting the project on several other occasions. He even sent two telegrams, one on September 5
th and December 5
th, 1924, from Montreal where he was overseeing work underway including at the Anglo-American Club, to Baltimore 5 Farms regarding the project there that was also underway.
Evidently, shortly around either late 1926 or by the middle of 1927, the project came to a halt, probably due to financial problems. We can now state this conclusively because of the image below, which shows an aerial photograph taken in 1929 of a site on the
"Chemin du Lac de l'Achigan" road nearby "Camp Bruchesi" on one side and a corresponding modern day aerial photograph of the same area showing the same area. The 1929 photograph includes two areas on which he and an aerial photograph expert with whom he collaborated were able to identify as the two holes that Tilly described in his articles about their construction. Also, they saw what appears to be the building that was to become the clubhouse. A careful look at this land also shows areas that may also be where other holes were in the process of construction as well.
The modern photograph shows that the entire property where the course and club weas to be, as well as the entire surrounding area, has become a mature and nearly impenetrable forest. It is because the 1929 aerial photograph shows the project as being nowhere near completion and most likely abandoned, that I state above that the cancelling most likely occurred between late 1926 or by the middle of 1927.
Alain has made a number of trips to this area through the more than 10 years that he has been searching for it. One of the reasons why I am in agreement with him that this must be the site is because it is the only are large enough to build a club anywhere near the size of the proposed Anglo-American club that has relatively flat land. This is important, as I quoted Tilly above as writing that it was located “in the heart of the Laurentians.”
Alain Chaput deserves every ounce of credit for both this discovery and his stubborn determination not to stop until he did. He also gave me permission to quote him directly from the email discussions we’ve had since yesterday:
This is some of what he wrote in two different emails that will be included in the thread: "After many years of research, I found the exact location of Anglo American Club…As per the document attached and the aerial picture on the left (taken in 1929), you can see the 2 holes Tillinghast is referring to in the articles. Everything he says is corresponding with what we see in this pic. This is the only relatively flat portion around the lake. It is now clear that for whatever reasons, Anglo American club was never completed. Unfortunately, the area is now a dense forest and everything is gone, including the structure that was probably projected for the clubhouse…There is a slight opening from the main road (Chemin du Lac de l’Achigan) to access the building with the red roof that you see on the pic on the right. If there are remnants of the clubhouse, they should be near the main road. I plan to go back there later this summer of this fall to check it out."
Also, "
In a nutshell, I’ve been researching Anglo American Club for at least… I would say 10 years now (maybe more). This club has always been the biggest mystery of all for me. I went around the lake 3 times in 5 years, met various people, interviewed a few, searched the Quebec National archives web site, contacted the municipality, etc. etc… It has only been recently that I met a lady who is an absolute expert at researching aerial photographs from the Quebec government database. It was while we were both searching for photographs of another golf club in the Laurentians (Alpine Golf Club) that I asked her if she could search for an aerial pic of Lac l’Achigan in the 1920’s… The area was quite large but she has the ability to evaluate the slopes of an area so this was crucial in finding the right area to explore for AAC since we knew that only 2 holes were stretching and the rest of the course was likely flat. 3 weeks later, she sent me the pic. It cost me 37$ but I didn’t care at that point. Another personal comment I should add is about the “clubhouse”. Since only 2 holes (or a few more) were built, I doubt that the administrators would have invest in the construction of a clubhouse before the course was completed. My feeling is that the 1929 pic that I sent you is showing a building that was probably a big house already on site prior 1922 and the plan was to transform it in a clubhouse once the course completed…My 2 cents…" As I've forgotten how to post images, Joe Bausch is doing me the favor and posting the side by side aerial photographs that I mentioned above. Bravo Alain!