Mill Creek Riding Club Youngstown, Ohio 1927-1935

Abstract

In the spring of 1927, at the height of the roaring twenties, several prominent Youngstown businessmen who regularly rode their horses through Mill Creek Park had a simple idea: let us form a riding club. By August of that year, their one small idea had grown into plans that included formally incorporating the club, buying property near the park, building a stable and clubhouse, hiring a riding master, and staging horse shows. The Mill Creek Riding Club quickly developed into one of the area's best-known social organizations, attracting members of Youngstown's elite families, and several area industrialists. Membership grew from the initial handful of riders to over 130 members. The club enlisted one of the members, architect Barton Brooke, to design a barn and clubhouse. In their first year of existence, the members hosted a horse show whose exhibitors included rubber magnate Harvey Firestone. The horse shows never attracted less than a thousand spectators on show days, and one year over 2,500 people arrived to watch champion show horses perform. After the stock market crash in 1929, the club did not re-trench but went ahead with plans to build a heated indoor arena, and to form a polo team. The growing economic troubles did not seem to worry club members who continued their normal activities. The Depression finally caught up with the club when the Dollar Savings and Trust Company, whose executive vice-president was a riding club member, foreclosed on the property. The Mill Creek Park Directors eventually bought the land and buildings, at first using the land for an archery range. The imposing stable sat empty for years, but fire destroyed the structure in 1940. The land has been a recreation area since the mid 1950s. The Mill Creek Riding Club, though of only short duration, remains an interesting part of Youngstown's cultural history.