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MEMBERSHIP
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New members pay $50 for the year, plus a $25 initiation fee, which provides them with use of the facilities and special rates on club events, although the bar is open to the public.
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During the late 1800s, bicycles were all the rage in America. Thousands of companies, including Buffalo’s Pierce Arrow, produced bikes to feed a demanding consumer need. Across the country, clubs were formed to center on the pastime, just as automobile clubs would organize a few years later. Tonawanda’s Eldredge Bicycle club was formed in 1898 and named after the “Eldredge” model of bike produced by the National Sewing Machine Company of Belvidere, Illinois. The model was named after the company’s founder, Barnabas Eldredge.
In 1898, 12 men who rode bikes decided that wanted a place to meet. They purchased a former residence at Broad Street near Delaware. For years the Club held annual bicycle races under the auspices of the amateur Bicycle League of America that drew cyclists from across the country and from such places at Belgium, Australia, Canada and England. At their annual race in 1951, Francois Mertens, a 19-year-old from Belgium, set a new national record time of 1 hour, 19 minutes & 15 seconds when he came across the finish line of the 35 mile race that snaked around Niagara County. In 1955, the club’s membership peaked at 2400. Current membership is around 300 with many members able to trace their family’s involvement in the club back for generations. At one time the Eldredge had a cross-canal softball and basketball rivalry with another Forgotten Buffalo featured club, the 3rd Warders in North Tonawanda
The goal of the Club is to promote athletic competition and activities that enhance the moral and physical development of participants and encourages a healthy living. They strive to instill the vales of confidence, good sportsmanship, honor and achievement. Above that, the Eldredge features fresh Genny Cream Ale on tap and Friday fish frys!
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