Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club photograph collection

The Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club Photograph Collection contains photographs and negatives relating to the Elk Ridge Fox Hunting Club, the Elkridge Hounds, Inc., the Harford Hunt Club, and the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club.

The Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club (EHHC) was founded as the Elk Ridge Fox Hunting Club by the wealthy horse-owning elite of Baltimore and the surrounding countryside. The group was dedicated to preserving the “noble sport of fox-hunting” in Maryland, and provided a social and recreational outlet from its members’ business pursuits in Baltimore City.

In 1920, the organization incorporated to become the Elkridge Hounds, Inc. Baltimore City’s continued expansion and the economic problems of the Great Depression led to the Elkridge Hounds Merger with the Harford Hunt Club in 1934 to become the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club. In 1978, the EHHC celebrated its 100th Anniversary with a dinner-dance at the Elkridge Club on Charles Street Avenue. The occasion was also marked by the publication of numerous articles and two small books relating to the history of the EHHC and to fox hunting in Maryland.

EHHC activities include breeding and training hounds, stabling horses, organizing hunts and steeplechases, as well as various dinner, teas, and dances for the socialization of its members. The organization has maintained a strict code of dress and etiquette for both the hunts and the events at the Club House. EHHC also has a webpage at www.ehhounds.com.

The creator of this collection, Mr. J. Rieman McIntosh (1905 - 1990), served as president of the EHHC from1939 – 1941, 1946-1953, and 1971-1972. He also served as secretary of the club from 1936-1939. He is the author of The Elkridge Fox Hunting Club: Stories of the Hunts, 1880 - 1884 and A History of the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club, 1878 – 1978, which are both contained in the collection. (These books can also be found in the main reading room of the Maryland Historical Society) Mr. McIntosh collected memorabilia and organizational records related to the EHHC as research for his books, and he and his family saved most of the EHHC correspondence and publications that they received. His widow, Mrs. Mayo Bryan, was responsible for the donation of the collection.