Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project
Thornburg Country Club was a Jewish country club in the west end of Pittsburgh.
A small golf course was established in the borough of Thornburg soon after Frank and David Thornburg began developing the farmland into a suburban community at the turn of the 20th century, and later a clubhouse was built. In early 1925, a group of 10-12 Jewish businessmen and professionals purchased the existing Thornburg clubhouse and signed a 10-year leased on an associated nine-hole golf course under the name Thornburg Country Club. Early officers included J. A. Williams, Dr. C. S. Cuden, Millard Fisher, H. H. Marcus, William Perlman, William Friedland, I. Tobinfliegel, Morris Friedman, William Lichtenstul, L. F. Adelman, Harry Shapiro, Joseph Gold, and Morris Caplan.
Thornburg Country Club grew quickly in the late 1920s as an alternative to Westmoreland Country Club. Its membership reached 33 in 1925, 66 in 1926, and 112 in 1927, and around 120 in 1928. In early 1929, Thornburg Country Club announced plans to merge with the Mercantile Club. The unified club would become the Thornburg Country and Town Club with nearly 200 members between the two predecessor organizations. As part of the merger, Thornburg Country and Town Club announced that it was looking for property elsewhere to build an 18-hole course with a larger clubhouse.
The economic downturn of the early 1930s greatly impacted Thornburg Country Club. By 1933, membership had fallen to around 100. That year, in an explicit attempt to improve its financial condition, the club discontinued many social affairs, added some winter functions at the Morrowfield Hotel in Squirrel Hill, eliminated its initiation fee, reduced its annual dues, and opened its membership to “any respectable Jewish person who will meet with the approval of the membership committee.” Even with these changes, Thornburg Country Club closed in 1934, selling its assets to the Crafton Public Golf Course. Thornburg Conservation Park was established on the grounds in 2005.
Bibliography
- “New Jewish Golf Club,” Jewish Criterion, April 24, 1925, p21 (online).
- “Thornburg Country Club Conveniently Situated,” Jewish Criterion, June 5, 1925 (online).
- “Thornburg Country Club,” Jewish Criterion, April 26, 1929, p8,49 (online, online).
- Thornburg Country Club ad, Jewish Criterion, April 28, 1933, p16 (online).
- “Thornburg Country Club,” Jewish Criterion, April 28, 1933, p26 (online).
- “Diverse Divots,” Jewish Criterion, September 15, 1933, p60 (online).
Exhibit history
- Author: Eric Lidji
- Original: June 26, 2026
- Current: June 26, 2026
Acknowledgements
- This entry was made possible through a gift from Westmoreland Country Club.