It was founded in August 1895 to "cater to industrialists" such as Amzi Barber, J. P. Morgan, John D. and William Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
It has been called "one of the grandest country clubs ever built" and "a symbol of the gilded age" where robber barons and the established rich of old New York mixed.
[4] According to The New York Times, "this sense of symbiotic interchange between the residents of the surrounding community and the club helped create a cozy, if undeniably exclusionary, enclave.
Original members included Amzi Barber, William and John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, Jay Gould, and Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
"[4] As of March 1896, the club's board of governors had 21 members, including John D. Archbold, Amzi Barber, Walston H. Brown, William L. Bull, Frederick L. Eldridge, Samuel Goodman, Edwin Gould, E. G. Janeway, Cyrus Field Judson, William F. Judson, George H. Mairs, Major O. J. Smith, Philip Schuyler, General Samuel Thomas, John T. Terry, John T. Terry, Jr., Roderick Terry, Henry Villard, Charles C. Worthington, John Brisbain Walker, and Lucien Warner.
The station is the only club-related building still extant; the site of the Casino, which was torn down in 1936, is now a cooperative residence known as Hudson House, designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon.
Around 200 trees were felled to allow a clear drive to the property, with many of the logs used to bank up the sides of a golf course.
[12] As of 1995, membership of the club played tennis and golf, swam, and attended social events on the same site.