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The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort facts for kids
Shawnee Inn
Location in the United States
The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort is a fun place to visit in Shawnee on Delaware. It's located in the beautiful Pocono Mountains in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The hotel has a special look, like a Spanish-style building with white walls and red tile roofs.
Mike Jesky, a writer, once said the inn looks big and grand, but also very welcoming. In the 1990s, the Shawnee Inn was known as the only resort right on the banks of the Delaware River. Its golf course is also very famous. Tee Time magazine even called it one of the best in the Mid-Atlantic area.
Contents
History of the Shawnee Inn
How it Started
The hotel first opened its doors on June 5, 1911. Back then, it was called the Buckwood Inn. It was built by Charles Campbell Worthington, who used to lead a big company called Worthington Pump and Machinery. The building was made from concrete, which was quite unusual for that time. Some of its walls were even a foot thick!
A writer named Lawrence Squeri noted something interesting. Even though the Buckwood Inn was right next to the Delaware River, guests still preferred a swimming pool. So, the resort made sure to have one for everyone to enjoy.
The Famous Golf Course
The golf course at the Buckwood Inn was very special. It was the first one ever designed by A. W. Tillinghast. He was a very famous golf course architect. In 1919, the resort hosted a big golf event called the U.S. Women's Amateur. A golfer named Alexa Stirling won that tournament.
Even famous people came to play golf here! John D. Rockefeller, a very wealthy businessman, stopped by in 1920. Charles Worthington, the owner, even tried to hire a Scotsman with sheep and dogs to keep the grass short. But it didn't work very well. So, Worthington invented something new called the gang mower. This machine helped keep the golf course neat. His invention led to the Shawnee Mower Factory, which sold these mowers all over the United States.
Big Golf Tournaments
The annual Shawnee Open golf tournament attracted many well-known golfers. These included Harry Vardon, Ted Ray, Freddie McLeod, and Alex Smith. In 1913, Worthington sent a letter to the players. He suggested they should get together and form a professional group.
This idea led to something big! The Buckwood Inn hosted the PGA Championship in 1938. The program for that event said that Worthington's letter gave golfers the idea to create a professional association. In the final match, Paul Runyan won against the local golf pro, Sam Snead.
New Owners and Famous Guests
In 1943, a bandleader named Fred Waring bought the resort. He changed its name to the Shawnee Inn. Fred Waring even broadcast his radio shows from the Shawnee Playhouse, which was nearby.
Many famous people visited the resort during this time! Jackie Gleason started playing golf there in 1944. Other stars like Art Carney, Lucille Ball, Ed Sullivan, and Perry Como often came to the resort. A very famous golfer, Arnold Palmer, even met his wife Winnie at the Shawnee Inn in 1954. She was working at the clubhouse then.
Expanding the Golf Course
In 1964, the golf course got even bigger. It went from eighteen holes to twenty-seven holes. Nine new holes were designed by Bill Diddle. Jason Scott Deegan from Golf Advisor said that it's hard to tell which holes were designed by Tillinghast and which by Diddle, but they all fit together well.
Twenty-four of the golf holes are on a private island in the Delaware River! Mike Jesky wrote that some holes require hitting the ball across the river. A long bridge, 284 feet, helps golfers get to these holes. In 1967, Hale Irwin won the NCAA Championship at the Shawnee Inn golf course. He was playing for the University of Colorado.
New Developments
In 1972, the resort joined with another company called American Landmark Corp. Their developer, Karl Hope, was in charge. In 1974, he started the Shawnee Village. This was the first timeshare development in Pennsylvania. A timeshare means you can buy the right to use a vacation property for a certain amount of time each year.
The Shawnee Inn also started offering skiing in 1975. They even hired a famous ski champion, Jean-Claude Killy, to lead the new ski operations.
In 1977, Charles Kirkwood, who was from Bethlehem, bought the Shawnee Inn. Later, in 2006, a new nine-hole golf course opened at the resort. It was designed by Tom Doak and is called the Tillinghast Approach Course.