The History of the Blue Ridge Swim Club

The pool at Blue Ridge Swim Club is a historic treasure. Built in 1913 by R. Warner Wood whose family owned and lived on nearby Holkham Farm, it was the centerpiece of Blue Ridge Camp, established in 1909. The camp was founded by Wood, a University graduate with a Master’s degree in Greek and History and a firm believer in developing both mind and body. According to its 1918 brochure, the camp offered “symmetrical, physical, mental, moral and social development in boys, along with plenty of healthful, natural fun.” Boys slept in tents on the property and activities included swimming, calisthenics, boxing, wrestling, baseball, football and track.

Wood and his friends chose a spot on the north side of his family’s farm where a spring fed the stream to build the pool. He hired an engineer who had worked on the Panama Canal to design the water flow system, which brings water from the stream into a nearby settling tank, where the mud separates from the water.

In the 1940’s, Monica Baker bought the pool and established it as a club, running it thus for several decades before selling it to the club’s members. In 2011, Todd Barnett bought the club and moved his Field Camp there, a co-ed day camp he co-founded with Jay Fennell in Charlottesville in 2000. The property thus now hosts both its historic functions—club swimming and a summer camp.