On a rainy evening in April 1976 a group of forty one hunters, fishermen, and others interested in the conservation of our wildlife resources met at the former American Legion hall on Church Street. Many of those present were former members of Stockbridge Fish and Game Club or the old Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club, which had been defunct for more than a decade.

While the main objective of the earlier groups had been social meetings, the organizers of the meeting that night unveiled a much more ambitious program. First and foremost would be the acquisition of property where a clubhouse and various shooting ranges could be located. A secondary, yet somehow very important consideration was the goal of having Echo Lake (Averic Lake), the Town reservoir, opened for an ice fishing derby one day each year.

Although the pessimists at that first meeting vociferously doubted the possibility of either of those projects reaching fruition, there was enough support to encourage the organizers to proceed. And so the Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club was reborn to a new era here in the heart of the Berkshire Hills.