Oak Hill Country Club & The University of Rochester

Oak Hill Country Club and The University of Rochester. Rochester Institutions take form. , Oak Hill Country Club was established in 1901 on 85 acres next to the Genesee River. The initial 137 members paid a $25 initiation fee and annual dues of $20. Membership provided access to nine holes of golf, a farmhouse repurposed as a clubhouse, and social access to some of Rochester's most influential citizens. , The University of Rochester was founded in 1850 and was located in a former hotel on Prince Street. With an expanding student population and a growing national and international reputation, the university began looking for suitable grounds for an expanded campus. With many sites considered, one influential proponent called the Oak Hill Country Club site with its "...rolling terrain and frontage on the River one of the most attractive university sites in the whole world. Proximity to the Genesee would enable students...to indulge in boating and other types of aquatic recreation, and ... that the acreage would be ample for all foreseeable requirements.", An agreement was signed on April 4, 1924. Two years later the club moved into its new home in Pittsford., (main photo caption:) 1935 Aerial photo looking northeast, showing the Elmwood Avenue bridge with the University of Rochester in the distance and Genesee Valley Park in the foreground. Rochester Images: From the Collection the Rochester Municipal Archives , (upper right inset:) Layout of Oak Hill Country Club superimposed over the present day University of Rochester campus. Illustration by Steve Boerner, Courtesy of the University of Rochester