Abandoned hunting lodge: High Winds Gun Club - Assateague Island National Seashore

High Winds Gun Club was built between 1922 and 1924. It was used as a hunting lodge up until 1968 when the government acquired the property to form Assateague Island National Seashore. The owners were granted 25 year rights to the property, which expired in 1993. High Winds Gun Club was originally named Riddle Club, after Samuel Riddle, but later was changed to High Winds. Riddle was owner of nearby Riddle Farms and world famous race horse Man-0- War. He supposedly hunted from a horse and buggy in the shallow waters around his property.

Between 1922 and 1924, Riddle acquired additional land both by patent and purchase. Samuel Riddle died in 1942 and the club was purchased by Thomas B. McCabe, who later became President and then Chairman of the Board of Scott Paper Company. Thomas McCabe was well known and was friend with President Richard Nixon. McCabe sold the High Winds Gun Club to E. Raymond Bounds in 1948. Bounds sold the property in 1952 to 6 partners: Francis Townsend, William Scott, Harry Jarvis, Mitchell Clogg, Walter Savage, and Daniel Trimper III. Tragically, in 1955, Mitchell Clogg, his wife, two small children, and two other guests drowned in a boating accident on their return from High Winds Gun Club.

Clogg's share was bought by the remaining five partners. The single-story waterfowl hunting club was built using at least two 40-foot shantyboats which were joined together to form a hunting club consisting of a dining room, kitchen, mud room and several bedrooms totaling seventeen rooms. About the same time an octagonal living room was built on the west side of the northernmost shantyboat. The club contains a total area of 2,320 square feet. This lodge contains nine (9) bedrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, two storage rooms, plus an octagon-shaped clubroom. The club used a battery for electricity and an in ground cistern to store water.

During the filming of this, the lodge is surrounded by heavy vegetation. The interior of the lodge is in very poor condition and much of it is collapsing. I could only make it part way into the house before it became impassable. The walk out to High Winds can only be done with waders in low tide as the old dams are broken leaving no access via the old road. Of all the hunting lodges still left on the island, High Winds was one of the most scenic walks and one of our favorites.