Photo provided by Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society Seymour Dunn manufactured golf clubs in Lake Placid.

If you read our article from last month, you know I have been busy learning the history of the town and organizing and familiarizing myself with the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s broad museum collection. As I meet new people in Lake Placid, I quickly find that they are excited to tell me about their family history and their connection to the community. What makes a historical society special is the museum collections that come from different families, who tell their stories about their time spent in Lake Placid. As I look through the photos, scrapbooks and personal objects from the collections, I am able to see the history unfold.

This past month I was able to learn and familiarize myself with another story of Lake Placid through a historic object that is new to our collection. We received a donation of a golf club created in the Seymour Dunn golf club shop. Nevton Dunn, grandson of Seymour, was kind enough to donate this piece of local history to us.

Born in 1882 in North Berwick, Scotland, Seymour Dunn had come from a family who had a long history with the game of golf. By the age of 17, he was named pro at the Societe Golf de Paris. He thought of the idea to create an indoor golf school in the Bourne Hall Hotel located in Bournemouth, England. He went on to design golf courses for King Leopold of Belgium, King Victor Emmanuel of Italy and Baron Rothschild of France.

Dunn spent his summers in the United States. When he was 15, he designed a nine-hole course at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. In the year 1906, he spent his first summer in Lake Placid, where he would soon return.

In 1907, he immigrated to the United States and held a position at Van Cortlandt Park golf club in the Bronx and worked with his uncle, Willie Dunn. Shortly after, he would take the position as golf professional and golf club maker at the Wykagyl Golf Club in New Rochelle. In the year of 1909, he laid out the Links Course at the Lake Placid Club and would settle in the area and take the position of golf architect and professional at the club.

Photo provided by Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society Seymour Dunn manufactured golf clubs in Lake Placid.

He opened the first manufacturing assembly line for golf clubs in Lake Placid in 1910 and had 10 employees working at the shop. By having an assembly line, Seymour was able to create and sell matched sets of clubs. Through this business, he also set up a mail-order company distributing his equipment throughout the United States. Wood clubs would sell for $3.50 each, and irons would be priced from $1.50 to $3.40.

He designed many golf courses in the area, the more familiar ones being the course at Craig Wood and the Lake Placid Club Links Course.

Dunn wrote many articles for golf magazines but is best known for writing “Golf Fundamentals.” This notable book, first published in 1930, broke down the game into 20 different phases and divided them by mechanics, dynamics and psychology.

From this one object, we were able to connect it to a larger story that further revealed another interesting facet to our town’s history. By associating the history with the golf club, it brings more depth to the piece, and hopefully it will bring more enjoyment to future generations as they share in these stories.

As the historical society receives new acquisitions, it is important to have that same community history connected with the object. Not only does this provide a background that bridges the item to the area, but it offers another layer of richness to Lake Placid’s past.

If you have been waiting to catch our latest exhibit, “The Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department: 110 Years of Service & Dedication,” you still have two weeks before the History Museum closes for the season. We will be open through Columbus Day weekend, Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We hope to see you there!