They Built It When
the World Said No.
Friends of Meadowbrook Golf Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit preserving the history of Meadowbrook Country Club in Garner, NC and restoring it as a museum and event center.
Built on Former Tobacco Land.
Built on Determination.
When Jim Crow laws denied African Americans access to every golf course in the region, a small committee organized citizens to build their own. 45 charter members each paid $100 to make it real.
In 1958 they held their first organizational meeting at Roberts Community Center. By 1959 they had chartered a country club. Everything that followed — lake, pier, clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, and golf course — was built by the members themselves.
The Land Is Preserved.
The Story Still Needs Saving.
The Town of Garner purchased the 121-acre site in 2016 for a public park. The physical land is protected, but the human story is deteriorating in fragile materials right now.
Archive at risk — original 1958 meeting minutes, charter documents, and hundreds of photographs need digitization now.
The Park Is Being Built.
The Story Must Be Ready.
The Town of Garner is building Meadowbrook Park. FOMGC is pursuing a partnership with the Town to restore the historic clubhouse as a Museum and Event Center. Final phases of the park are slated to fund in FY29.
A 501(c)(3) Preservation Nonprofit
Friends of Meadowbrook Golf Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit preservation organization established in 2010 with one mission: to save, preserve, and share the history of Meadowbrook Country Club — the first Black country club south of Maryland — as a significant chapter in American civil rights history.
FOMGC is an all-volunteer preservation organization. We are not the original Meadowbrook Country Club; we exist to preserve and share its history. Gifts to FOMGC are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
What We Do
Preserve the Archive
Digitize and protect photographs, founding documents, meeting minutes, scorecards, and personal records before deterioration makes them unrecoverable.
Build the Memorial
Fund and establish a permanent educational memorial at Meadowbrook Park, honoring all 45 charter members by name.
Capture Living Memory
Record oral histories and personal accounts from charter member families and longtime members before that firsthand knowledge is gone forever.
Educate the Public
Develop educational programming for Wake County schools and ensure Meadowbrook Park tells the complete story of what stood here.