The+Woodhaven+Athletic+Club

The Woodhaven Athletic Club. Originally known as ""The Young Woodhavens,"" this group of athletically-minded young men played amateur ball, with many of their games locally at Dexter Park. The original clubhouse was ""under the chestnut trees near old Krug's Pond"" - the exact location of that clubhouse and the pond is unknown. The land they currently occupied was once owned by Florian Grosjean; he intended to erect a Catholic Church at this site. Instead, the church - St. Elizabeth's - was erected on Atlantic Avenue.

The Woodhaven A.C. acquired the property and the building in 1923; it was described at the time as ""an old landmark in Woodhaven, formerly owned by the estate of Emil Keagries.

Twenty-seven members of the club served during World War 1 and one of them, John Alexander Baccus, was killed in action in 1918. One of the recently discovered WW1 Memorial Trees of Woodhaven in Forest Park was dedicated to John Baccus.

The Woodhaven Athletic Club is one of the oldest continuously operating organizations or clubs in Queens.

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