Our History

Established by prominent residents of Yonkers in 1866 as a place for community members to come together for sport, recreation and socialization, the Palisade Boat Club is proud of its heritage as the oldest boat club in the state of New York and the third oldest in the country.

With a clubhouse built atop pilings in Yonkers in late 1869, the club also holds the title of the oldest boat club in its original structure in the country. Constructed of timber beams locked together by treenails (wooden pegs), the building is in impressive condition, despite its age and decades of devastating hurricanes and snowstorms that have taken their toll on similar structures. 

While the boathouse remains in its original form, the club has moved locations since its establishment. In 1910, the Penn Central Railroad needed use of the original location at the foot of Gold Street in Yonkers. Later that year, the boat club journeyed up the Hudson River on pontoons to its current home, where it straddles the Hastings and Yonkers border. The yard is considered Yonkers, while the boathouse itself is in Hastings. 

Excerpt from WAG Magazine “Sailing Through History”