University Barge Club was founded in 1854 by ten members of the University of Pennsylvania's freshman class:[6] They first rowed out of a Schuylkill boathouse near the Fairmount Waterworks known simply as "Charlie's boathouse".[7] The club was officially formed when the founders purchased its first boat, the Hesperus, from Bachelors Barge Club.[8] Club members wore sailor uniforms from clothier Jacob Reed that were monogrammed with "U.B.C." on their hats and belts.[2] In 1855, members of the club, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Barge Club, built a one-story brick boathouse on rented land.[8] The club purchased a second boat, named Lucifer.[7] After 1860, both boats were moved to a space rented from the Philadelphia Skating Club, which is now the Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club.[9]
At first, membership was limited to students enrolled at Penn, but the club was not listed as a student organization of the university until 1867, when the University Barge Club won the Schuylkill Navy championship flag.[7] Membership was later opened to Penn alumni and certain non-alumni.[7]
Although the club was still affiliated with the university, it gradually began to cater more to non-students.[8] As the club's membership became dominated by Old Philadelphians[10] from the upper-class[5] aristocracy, student enthusiasm waned.[7]
In 1871, the Fairmount Park commission allowed the club to build its own boathouse on Boathouse Row.[11] In 1872, Penn students formed an alternative club, the College Boat Club, to cater to students and focus on preparing for intercollegiate competitions.[7]
In 1887, University Barge Club leased an additional upriver clubhouse for social functions called The Lilacs on the west bank of the Schuylkill.[5][10] Today, while many of the University Barge Club's members are University of Pennsylvania graduates, the club has no official affiliation with the university.[7]
University Barge Club is the sister club of Union Boat Club of Boston.[12] For more than 60 years, the two sister clubs have held an annual interclub "UBC" regatta.[12]
History of the boathouse
The boathouse, at #7-8 Boathouse Row, dates from 1871, and was greatly expanded in 1891.[13] Originally, University Barge Club only occupied #7, while Philadelphia Barge Club occupied #8. In 1932, University Barge Club acquired #8 when Philadelphia Barge Club ceased operations.[13]
^Crowther, Samuel; Arthur Brown Ruhl (1905). "The Beginning of Rowing". Rowing and Track Athletics. New York: MacMillan. p. 24. J. Ashhurst Bowie, Horace G. Browne, Alexander B. Coxe, Pemberton S. Hutchinson, Chas. I. Macouen, J. Beauclerc Newman, James H. Peabody, Edmund A. Robinson, George H. Waring, and John W. Williams.
^ abBurt, Nathaniel (1999). "The Schuylkill Navy". The Perennial Philadelphians: the anatomy of an American aristocracy. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 297–98. ISBN978-0-8122-1693-6.
Janssen, Frederick W. (August 15, 1888). "University Barge Club". Outing Library of Sports: American Amateur Athletic and Aquatic History 1829–1888. New York. p. 213.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Scharf, John Thomas; Westcott, Thompson (1884). "Public Squares, Parks, and Monuments". History of Philadelphia, 1609–1884. Vol. 3. L. H. Everts & Company. p. 1871.
