The most recognizable historic photos of North Beach usually feature its role as a magnet for tourists and residents alike in the 1920s and ’30s. The images often show a Ferris wheel, carnival rides and tourists swimming in a saltwater pool while enjoying the beach. But before North Beach picked up steam as a tourist hotspot, it was still a destination for many locals.
Corpus Christi Golf and Country Club was both the first country club and the first golf course in the city. Located on North Beach, it opened in 1909 to much fanfare. The club featured a nine-hole golf course designed by Fred McLeod, winner of the 1908 U.S. Open. President William Howard Taft even hit the ceremonial first tee shot while in town visiting family.
While the club itself was short-lived, the clubhouse stayed in use and was converted to a bathhouse serving those who visited North Beach. In 1919, this building and many others were swept away by a hurricane, which left just three structures standing on North Beach.
The membership reorganized in the years after the storm and built a new building safely inland off Up River Road. From there the membership grew into the current location on Everhart Road, which opened in 1965 when the southside was the edge of town. Now enveloped in residential development that spilled south after the opening of the club, the Country Club continues to be a destination for many locals.
