Radnor Hunt is the oldest continuous fox-hunting club in the United States recognized by the Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America.

Overview

Radnor Hunt was founded in 1883 in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

.Radnor Hunt: About Us
/ref>Digby Baltzell, ''The Protestant Establishment Revisited'', Piscataway, New Jersey:

Transaction Publishers Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey–based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged w ...

, 1999, p. 10

/ref> A property was purchased on the corner of Darby-Paoli and Roberts Roads in

Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Newtown Township, also referred to by the name of its post office of Newtown Square, is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Prior to 1789, it was part of Chester C ...

, and it became the club headquarters. From its early days, it attracted members of prominent families from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and the

Philadelphia Main Line The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and Social class in the United States, social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's onc ...

, also known as "

Old Philadelphians Old Philadelphians, also called Proper PhiladelphiansSee generally, Baltzell, Nalle , "Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia" and "Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class." or Perennial Philadelphians, are the First Families o ...

". For example,

Alexander Cassatt Alexander Johnston Cassatt (December 8, 1839 – December 28, 1906) was the seventh president of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), serving from June 9, 1899, to December 28, 1906. Family and early life Alexander Cassatt was born on December 8, 1 ...

(1839–1906), the seventh president of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

(PRR), was a founding member. The first President was James Rawle of the J. G. Brill Company, and the first Master of Foxhounds was Horace B. Montgomery. Later, Samuel D. Riddle (1861–1951) joined the club. In 1931, architect Arthur Ingersoll Meigs (1882-1956), who was a member of the hunt, restored the Gallagher Farm on Boot Road (now Providence Road) in White Horse, Pennsylvania as well as new stables and kennels. It became the new club headquarters. The club is recognized by the

Masters of Foxhounds Association of America Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

. Memberships are cited in the

Social Register The ''Social Register'' is a semi-annual publication in the United States that indexes the members of American high society. First published in the 1880s by newspaper columnist Louis Keller, it was later acquired by Malcolm Forbes. Since 2014, ...

.Edward Digby Baltzell, ''Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class'', Piscataway, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1989, p. 36

/ref>

Leadership

*President: Janice Murdoch .Abbott Takes Over Reins of Steeplechase Association
''

The Blood-Horse ''The Blood-Horse'' (also referred to simply as ''Blood-Horse'' and displayed on its nameplate in upright all-capital letters without hyphenation as BLOODHORSE) is a news magazine that originated in 1916 as a monthly bulletin of the Thoroughbred ...

'', January 23, 2007 *Vice President: J. Wesley Hardin. *Treasurer: Stephen E. Flynn II *Secretary: Jane Taylor.

Bibliography

*Collin F. McNeil, ''Bright Hunting Morn: The 125th Anniversary of the Radnor Hunt'' (New York, New York: The Derrydale Press, 2009)

References

{{Reflist Fox hunting 1880s in Pennsylvania Upper class culture in Pennsylvania