The Harrisburg Motorcycle Club, Inc. is one of the oldest American
Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Chartered motorcycle club in the United States. The Club was founded in 1932, and for
it's first meeting site leased ground near Harrisburg in a small ravine adjacent to what is now the Camp Hill Swim Club.
The property was a part of the Beam Family Farm. The original lease was for a 15-year term, and because two of the Beam's
sons were members of the Club, the rent was only $1.00 per year. Both street and off-road riding events were held at
the Camp Hill site.
Shortly after the start of World War II,
HMC elected to suspend operations due to loss of membership and gasoline shortages. The Club was reacitvated in January
of 1946. In 1947, however, the lease for the Camp HIll property expired and could not be renewed due to estate complications
associated with the death of one of the Beam sons in a railroad accident.
Searching for a new location, HMC located
the bulding of the then-defunct West Fairview Gun Club on property of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This property was north
of the Village of West Fairview. The gun club had closed as a result of the War; however, because of a clause in it's
lease specifying that all improvements had to be removed upon cancellation, gun club officers had decided to continue payments
to the Railroad so as to avoid responsibility for tearing down their clubhouse. The gun club gave the building to the
Harrisburg Motorcycle Club, and helped get the lease assigned.
Shortly thereafter, HMC decided to purhcase
its own ground, and the gun club building was torn down and removed from Railroad property. The building materials were
salvaged and stored at a Club member's property on Walker Mill Road in Harrisburg until a new site could be located.
During that period, Club meetings were held at the home of deceased Life Member Marlin "Shorty" Schreffler on 30th Street
in Penbrook. Usually only nine or ten members attended those meetings in the Club's "provisional" headquarters.
A committee was appointed to locate a new
property. That committee ultimately selected the Club's current location in Susquehanna Township, north of LInglestown
Road (PA Route 39), which "Shorty" had originally identified as a potential site.
The 15-acre Susquehanna Township property
then belonged to John Felty, Jr., who resided on Front Street in Harrisburg, just south of what is now the Glass Lounge Restaurant.
The property was purchase for $100 per acre, and included a 30-foot right-of-way running north from PA Route 39 for common
use by HMC and any owners of other contiguous property sold by Mr. Felty. The sale was finalized in 1949.
To raise the $1,500 needed to purchase
the Felty land, HMC arranged for Williams Grove Speedway to obtain AMA racing sanctions in the Club's name. Wiliams
Grove then held sanctioned half-mile dirt flat track motorcycle races. For each race the Club supplied five "officials"
and was paid $250. Additionally, Williams Grove would pay $5.00 each for up to 12 riders for "boundary patrol" to discourage
nonpaying patrons at weekly auto racing events. Money earned from these activities provided the extra funds over and
above the Club's $0.25 per month dues needed to purchase the Felty property. At the time of the actual purchase in 1949,
Club dues were increased to $0.50 per month.
In the spring of 1950, HMC brought to the
new site a D-10 dozer to constuct an access lane and dig the basement for a clubhouse. Building materials salvaged from
West Fairview were transferred to teh new property, and Members rebuilt on the Susquehanna Township site the gun club building
they had previously torn down. The clubhouse was constructed for a total of $650. Subsequently, Members plastered
the outside and inside walls of the building, poured the concrete porch and constructed the porch roof. Somewhat later,
"Shorty" fabricated and installed an ornamental iron porch railing which has become an icon for the Club.
An AMA sanctioned TT (Tourist Trophy) dirt
race track consisting of small jmps and "at least one right hand turn" was constructed on the Susquehanna Township property
in 1957; later the track was converted to a recreational riding area.
In the beginning, motorcycling activity
at the Susquehanna Township property consisted of "Field Meets", "Reliability Runs", and "Poker Runs" (all road events) in
addition to the TT dirt races. Due to lack of attendance, all events were eventually dropped except for "Poker Runs",
which continue to this day at the rate of tow or three per riding season under the auspices of the AMA District 6 Riding Association.
Beginning in the late 1980's, the press
of residential development in the Susquehanna Township area prompted HMC to begin searching for an alternative site.
The Susquehanna Township property was ultimately sold to the McNaughton Company, a Harrisburg developer, with closing occuring
on January 26, 1998. The Club is currently leasing-back the Clubhouse for meetings and other social purposes.
HMC recently identified as a potential
relocation site the 120-acre "Earl J. Raynes" property in the northeast corner of West Hanover Township, north of Fishing
Creek Valley Road (PA Route 443). The Raynes property, due to its size, location and terrain, is uniquely suited to
the Club's purposes. The parcel is large enough to locate the off-road riding facility in a remote "valley" area, and
contiguous land to the north owned by the Game Commission, and to the east occupied by IGMR, guarantees isolation. Moreover,
West Hanover Township's "Conservation" zoning classification fo the subject property and surrounding area assures minimal
development, thereby likewise making the Raynes tract particularly attractive.
HMC entered into an Agreement of
Sale dated February 23, 1998 for the purchase of the Raynes property. The Agreement was conditioned upon requisite
Township Zoning approval, which was granted by Order of the Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) on April 15, 1998. The ZHB decision was ultimately appealed up through the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, which approved the variance
by Order of March 29, 2000.
