The Farmland Conservation Club is pledged to defend all our natural resources and the sporting events associated with them. The current land holding of the club is 238 acres on County Road 500 West in Whitewater Township Randolph County, Indiana. In the beginning, meetings were held in various places in the Farmland area. The club was chartered in 1957 and after a period of limited activity was reorganized in 1985. The goal was to find a home which seemed a likely possibility when this site with 177 acres and a 7-acre lake became available. However, the owner’s price of $100,000 was impossible for the club. In 1987 a deal was reached where the club made a $4,000 payment on a 10-year land contract. The club would pay $4,000 per year on the principal while the owners collected the Conservation Reserve Program payments on the land.
The few members who originally paid a joining fee of $300 and annual dues of $25 went to work to improve the property. A shelter house was built and a one-car garage was moved to the north end of the lake for a clubhouse. A generator was installed in a block building north of the shelter and a well was drilled.
As improvements increased so did memberships. In 1996 electrical lines were run from the gate to the north shelter. In 1997 the education center was built followed by a maintenance machinery building in 1999. A fishing dock was built by the Boy Scouts. Recent improvements include trap shooting buildings by a shop class and playground equipment for family use.
In 1991 the land contract balance of $49,000 was paid off through a mortgage that itself was paid off by 1996. In 1991 the membership was up to 70; today it is at nearly 500 family memberships.
Among the many events in the club’s history was a shoot called the Old Hunter’s Shoot after a historic group from Wayne and Randolph County who met each fall for a competition. Other events include archery, dog trials, 4-H shooting sports classes, Hunter safety classes, rifle shoots, trap shoots, law enforcement training, and food plots for wildlife habitat. The education center is rented out for family events, weddings, and other community activities.
It is our hope that future generations will embrace our conservation pledge to defend our natural resources, including forests, soil, water and wildlife.
By Peggy Hummel