New York City, 1937. Like so many New Yorkers had before, and many more to come, C.K. Froehlich and Edgar Zecher loved the energy and opportunity of the city that never sleeps, but they yearned for a quiet and beautiful retreat. They wanted a getaway in nature, and most importantly, they wanted a place for their families to call their own.

As recent transplants to America, the prospect of return visits to their native Germany was growing darker by the day, so the two hatched a plan to create a great nature preserve and club in the mountains of New York State.

Froehlich and Zecher first turned to their tight-knit circle of German friends and relatives with a pitch. They would find the land and develop the organization, but in order to fulfill their vision, they would need the support of numerous families and investors. After many long drives, scouting the far reaches of upstate New York, followed by animated meetings in the bustling restaurants of New York City, the two settled on a parcel of approximately 2000 acres in Glen Spey, New York, the glorious Upper Delaware River valley.

The land was everything they could possibly want. It was a short two-hour drive from the city. The thick and beautifully diverse natural forests were crisscrossed with brooks and streams for fishing. With each return trip an unending welcoming party of wild animals greeted them. The land reminded them of so many happy times they had spent in the wilderness back home, and so The Black Forest Club was born.

Building on the founders’ intent to develop the land as a vacation retreat, the group made a forward-thinking, and for the time absolutely unheard-of, decision to retain half of the property as undeveloped Parkland. To this day, 1100 acres are protected in a forest management program, which also helps reduce taxes and maintain the forest resources for all Club members and their families.

In 1940, the founding families opened the Club to new members and began selling subdivided lots, which allowed the Club to grow into the diverse community that it is today. The Club has always operated with an unpaid Board of Directors and relies on volunteers and membership committees for day-to-day operations.