The concept of The Hunt Club is nearly a thousand years in the making. Steeped in the centuries-old traditions of fox hunting and steeplechase, the pastoral grounds of The Hunt Club were once part of what was hailed as the “finest sporting estate in the world.”
In the year 1079, William the Conqueror first had the idea to set aside the most beautiful land in his kingdom for trees to grow and noblemen to hunt. In the late 1920s, a group of successful U.S. businessmen, building on King William’s idea, purchased more than 15,000 acres to create the Southern Grasslands Hunt and Racing Foundation. In 1930, according to Time magazine, it was “the biggest tract made safe for private chasing since King William had his idea about the woods in Hampshire.”
Along with miles of rail and stone fences, barns, stables and kennels, the foundation erected a massive observation tower in 1929, which came to be known as The Grasslands Tower. The horns were sounded, the hounds set loose, and for decades this land enjoyed a special place in American high society. The Avondale Farm, as it was known, became home to one of America’s grandest sport clubs ever.
Today, the Avondale farmland is enjoying a second Renaissance as one of Tennessee’s grandest master-planned communities. Take a moment to learn more about how The Hunt Club reflects a heritage of sport, class and refinement that echoes across a landscape once graced by red-jacketed riders and sleek horses.
