In 1885, Dr. Henry White and tanner Frederick Scheibler helped organize Blackfish Club for organized fishing on the lower portion of the Blackfish and Shell Lake in Arkansas near Quigley. Because of rough roads from Quigley to the clubhouse, the organization planned to build a railway tram from the station to the lodge. Some of the members purchased land near the clubhouse and leased it for farming, using some of the proceeds for the club.[1]
Another club on Blackfish Lake was the Bald Knob Rod and Gun Club, established in 1888 three miles from Earle, Arkansas, roughly eighty miles from Memphis. Purchasing six miles on the upper Blackfish Lake, organizers built a clubhouse on the land. Using a wagon and team, they transported their members from the rail station in Earle to the lodge. Fishing was the principal endeavor of this organization, although they had the occasional small game to hunt. Members hoped that they could expand their holdings over the next few years to control the fishing and hunting in the area and keep the market hunters out.[2]
[1] “The Hunting Clubs of Memphis,” Memphis Avalanche, September 2, 1888, 2.
[2] “The Hunting Clubs of Memphis,” Memphis Avalanche, September 2, 1888, 2.
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Arkansas Wildlife History 