Rolling Rock Club is a private country club located on along U.S. Route 30 about SE of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, in Laughlintown, Pennsylvania, Ligonier Valley.

History

Rolling Rock Club was originally of land owned by Judge

Thomas Mellon Thomas Mellon (February 3, 1813 – February 3, 1908) was an American entrepreneur, lawyer, and judge, best known as the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh. Early life Mellon was born to farmers Andrew Mell ...

, who left it to his son

Richard Beatty Mellon Richard Beatty Mellon (March 19, 1858 – December 1, 1933), sometimes R.B., part of the Mellon family, was a banker, industrialist, and philanthropist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Biography He and his brother Andrew Mellon, sons of Judge T ...

, brother of

Andrew Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

and onetime president of

Mellon Bank Mellon Financial Corporation was an investment firm which was once one of the world's largest money management firms. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was in the business of institutional and high-net-worth individual asset management, incl ...

. Richard Beatty Mellon turned Rolling Rock into a rural retreat for his friends and family to hunt, fish, and ride. From this, it steadily developed into an establishment that, in addition to the usual country club necessities — swimming pool and golf course — also boasted stocked

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-sa ...

streams, duck ponds, game birds, and shooting ranges. The club also kept a pack of English fox hounds, raised pheasants, and ran the

Gold Cup Steeplechase The International Gold Cup was first held in 1930 at Grasslands Downs, Tennessee. Overview Two years later it was moved to the Rolling Rock Club course in Pennsylvania. For the next fifty-two years the meet was held at this private country club ...

(from 1933 until 1983). R.B. Mellon left the estate to his son,

Richard King Mellon Richard King Mellon (June 19, 1899 – June 3, 1970), commonly known as R.K., was an American financier, general, and philanthropist from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and part of the Mellon family. Biography The son of Richard B. Mellon, nephew of ...

, when he died in 1933. In the middle of the twentieth century, Rolling Rock Club hunted over , mostly owned by 240 farmers whose acres surround the Mellon 18,000 acres.

Golf course

The golf course at Rolling Rock Club in Laughlintown, Pennsylvania, was designed by

Donald Ross Donald Ross may refer to: *Donald A. Ross (1857–1937), Canadian politician * Donald Ross (golfer) (1872–1948), Scottish-born American golfer and golf course designer *Donald P. Ross (1902–1973), American horse racetrack and racing stable owner ...

and was built as a nine-hole course in 1917. The club opened nine new holes, designed by Brian Silva, in May 1997. The course totals 6,176 yards from the back tees. With only two water hazards in the form of environmentally sensitive areas, there are plenty of sand bunkers. The greens are undulating, and the fairways are tree-lined.

The Hunt Stables

The Hunt Stables were designed by Pittsburgh architect

Benno Janssen Benno Janssen (March 12, 1874 – October 14, 1964) was an American architect. Childhood, education and career Benno Janssen was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Oscar Janssen and Thekla Susenbeth. Janssen studied at the University o ...

and originally built in 1921 to house 28 stalls, a tack room, a veterinarian's area, grooms' quarters, food storage, equipment rooms, and a great round room where trophies and ribbons were displayed. With an intent to preserve the landmark of its heritage, in 1984, the building was converted into private condominiums, preserving as much of the existing architecture as possible. Every unit has its own entrance and individual identity and is autonomous with respect to neighboring units. Vestibules and fenestrated entrance hall additions were designed to increase the area to an average of per unit. The private resort also features overnight accommodations.

References

*''Rolling Rock Row'', in ''Time'', April 12, 1937. * ''Sports Illustrated'', October 8, 1956 * MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni Architects, Inc.; www.mcfarchitects.com * http://biography.yourdictionary.com/richard-king-mellon {{Golf clubs in Pennsylvania Clubs and societies in Pennsylvania Golf clubs and courses in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 1917 establishments in Pennsylvania Sports venues completed in 1917