Join us at Stow Acres Country Club,  58 Randall Road Stow, MA

Robert H. Hawkins – For most of the 20th century successful Black businessmen and their families did not have equal access to recreational facilities in the United States of America.  This civil rights infringement was also a business opportunity.  Hear how Robert H. Hawkins used his love of golf to become the first African American to design, operate, and manage a country club in the United States. Starting in 1926, his Mapledale Golf Club in Stow, Mass. hosted three straight national championships for Black golfers.

Storyteller: Sean Osborne is a public historian and storyteller who enjoys sharing his research through stories, documentaries, animated shorts and exhibitions. He has performed in schools, museums, and the workplace.

 
Annual Meeting: Following the storytelling event about Robert H. Hawkins, join us for Rediscover Mapledale’s Annual Meeting where we discuss new business, vote in advisory positions on our board, and welcome new members.  

What to the Slave is the 4th of July?
Storytelling and Public Reading
at Stow Acres on Saturday June 27th, 2026

10:30 am- Storytelling: Stories Celebrating Freedom Further Extended and Confederate Defeat on the 4th of July! During and after the Civil War, the 4th of July became a distinctly Black holiday. Hear tales of how a Black Patriot of the Revolutionary War and an abolitionist from New York worked to extend the promises of the Declaration of Independence.

11:30 am- Public Reading and Discussion: Whether you’ve participated before or will join us for the first time, you will learn something new by reading and listening to Douglass in 2026. Written in response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, this 1852 speech inspired and challenged Douglass’s audience.

Storyteller and Discussion Leader: Sean Osborne is a public historian and storyteller who enjoys sharing his research through stories, documentaries, animated shorts and exhibitions. He has performed in schools, museums, and the workplace.

Join us at the Second Annual Golf Tournament to celebrate the legacy of Black golf in Massachusetts and America. 

1. Robert H. Hawkins was a co-founder of the United Golfers Association in 1925, an organization that will get part of the proceeds from this golf tournament and is committed to the development of Black youth and adults in the sport of golf. 

2. Hawkins is the first African American to build, own, and operate a golf course in Massachusetts. 

3. Originally named Mapledale Country Club in 1926 when Robert H. Hawkins purchased the Randall Estate, Mapledale hosted the first three UGA “Negro National” Open Championship golf tournaments in New England in 1926, 1927, and 1928 before closing in 1929 under the weight of the Great Depression. 

Please attend, golf, or join us for lunch at Stow Acres Country Club in Stow, MA.

AGENDA

REgistration Opens at 12:00 pm

Shotgun Start at 1:00 pm

Boxed Lunch

Price

$175 per person*

*Includes All Green Fees, Golf Carts, Lunch Buffet, & Awards

At the Gala, our new traveling exhibition: Mapledale: 100 Hundred Years Thanks to Hawkins will debut.

Mapledale: 100 Hundred Years Thanks to Hawkins, a compelling traveling historical exhibition that examines the nationally significant legacy of Mapledale Country Club and its founder, Robert H. Hawkins, within the broader context of Black golf and American sports history.

Following its opening, the exhibition will travel free of charge to schools, libraries, museums, historical societies, and community spaces throughout Stow and surrounding Massachusetts communities. By bringing this history directly into public and educational spaces, the exhibition seeks to increase local and regional understanding of a groundbreaking yet often overlooked chapter in American sports and Black history.

Proceeds benefit the United Golfers Association, committed to the advancement of minority players in the game of golf and Urban Golf Club, Inc., inspiring youth golf players through financial literacy education.

Attire is Business Casual 

Theme is the nineteen-twenties