Shady Rest Museum Tours
Sign-up for Historic Shady Rest Golf and Country Club - Juneteenth Celebration
Shady Rest Museum preserves a piece of American History. Shady Rest Golf and Country Club is the first Black-owned golf and country club in the United States. Visit the museum and find out the little-known story of John Shippen, the first American-born golf pro who made his personal and professional home at Shady Rest.
This club was established to provide recreation and entertainment at a time when blacks were not allowed membership at the white country clubs during that era of segregation. Activities included golf, tennis, horseback riding, and skeet shooting. The private club became a center for African American society hosting events with famous people such as W.E.B. DuBois, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, tennis great Althea Gibson, and golf pros Teddy Rhodes, Bill Spiller and Joe Louis.
Museum Tours will be part of the Juneteenth Celebration on June 18th at the Shady Rest Golf and Country Club at 820 Jerusalem Rd, Scotch Plains.
Tours are at 4:00 and 5:00 pm. Pre-registration is required:
American History - Shady Rest Golf & Country Club is the oldest African-American golf clubhouse in the United States of America
Oil Painting of John Matthew Shippen, Jr.
Don Miller, Artist