A History of Athens Country Club
Established on June 10th 1946
Here’s how it all began…
A group of men frequently met at Stirman’s Drugstore on the Athens square to visit and drink coffee. Hobson Green and others began to discuss in earnest having a membership type club in town, a club that would be a credit to the Athens community.
Hobson was an attorney and owner of a title company in Athens. The story goes that Hobson, an avid golfer like Joel Lusk and “Pappy” Hart, frequently had to play courses in nearby towns like Corsicana or travel quite a distance to enjoy a day on the links.
They began to stew about having a golf club handy and soon Hobson solicited the advice and help of A. P. Smith and his brother Milton, owners of the Chrysler/ Dodge dealership, and Leon Barron, the International Harvester dealer. They were ready to invest in such a venture.
Soon, other Stirman “regulars” Wofford Spenser, Winfield “Doc” Stirman, and Jim Roberts became interested. It was known that R.T. Craig, a local real estate broker, had 120 acres that he would sell for $25,000.00.
This property had changed hands several times. First records show that in April of 1929, it became the property of Nannie Carroll. She sold it to Willie W. Keen in 1931 and on January 25, 1932, she sold it to J.F. Doggett. J. L. Franklin then bought it January 30, 1932, five days later.
On February 4, 1933, Franklin sold it back to Willie W. Keen. Mrs. Keen and her husband sold it on September 16, 1935 to F.E. LaRue. In 1944, I.P. and Ruth LaRue sold it to R.T. and wife Clara E. Craig. The land was ideally suited to the building of a nine-hole golf course. There was already an older, two-story rock building on the property, which when renovated and roofed, would make an attractive clubhouse.
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