As residential, commercial and retail developments continue to reshape Flower Mound, a secluded 70-acre property in the heart of town has remained remarkably unchanged for more than 70 years — and its owners intend to keep it that way.
Tucked along the shores of Grapevine Lake, the Northshore Club has quietly preserved one of Flower Mound’s untouched natural landscapes since 1953, eight years before the town incorporated.
Among those who visited the club over the years were a former U.S. president, a North Texas oil baron and a self-made billionaire, all drawn to its secluded setting for hunting, fishing and escaping city life.
While its history is rooted in exclusivity, the Northshore Club has evolved into a family-oriented organization that welcomes new members who share its commitment to preserving the property’s natural beauty.
Today, the club includes just over 70 member families, with approximately 20 memberships still available.
Rather than relying on high membership fees, the club emphasizes volunteerism. Members donate their time to maintain the property, care for its natural resources and ensure future generations can enjoy the same outdoor experiences that have defined the club for decades.
“We like to say we’re not a country club, we’re a club in the country,” said 30-year member Thom Campbell.
A common theme around Northshore is self-reliance and member participation, similar to an adult scouting retreat.
The grounds use water wells that pull from an underground aquifer below the property and members maintain everything from the gravel roads, historic boathouse and shooting range to the playground, community pool and pickleball courts.
Heck, they even created an internet system through the place when providers refused to.
But the members like it like that, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We want to keep it as much like it was in 1953 as we can,” said Campbell. “People ask us if we’re going to pave the roads – we don’t want to.”
And that has drawn in some huge names that appreciate what the club is doing.
Byron Nelson, Harry Hines, Robert L. Thornton, Ross Perot and James Woodall Rodgers have all been members of the club.
Harold Stanley Marcus, son of the founder of luxury retailer Neiman Marcus and ex-chairman of the brand, was a member. His brother is a familiar Flower Mound name – Edward S. Marcus, former chairman of the retailer and the namesake of Marcus High School.
Some days, the club would get a call that blacked out vehicles would be parked on the property while a certain former Texan president enjoyed the world-renowned Northshore Trail, widely considered “the Mecca of mountain biking in North Texas.”
But Northshore Club is more than just big names.
Inside the pages of the Northshore Club’s annual membership meeting packet in 2023, when the club celebrated its 70th anniversary, are notes, photos and announcements that emphasize what the club is really about: the kids and grandkids of members who graduated college, the results from the fishing tournament held at the club’s private lake and the volunteers’ renovation plans.
Bob Neander, a 29-year member who moved to Texas from Illinois, has had the chance to see his grandkids enjoy the club.
“This was a whole new experience for us. I retired and had five grandkids that grew up out here,” he said. “For grandparents, when your grandkids want to come out and see you, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
One area of improvement was the club’s historic boathouse, which is considered one of the oldest in Texas. It was approved for 50 slips by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1954 on the condition it was a boathouse, not a marina, as structures weren’t allowed on the lake at the time.
“Over the years, it has been expanded and updated to provide slips for sailboats, motor boats, pontoons and other recreational water vehicles,” wrote member Sharon Hawley in a compiled history of the club. “The Northshore Club marina does not have facilities for obtaining fuel for vehicles or other amenities, but continues to be attractive to the membership for its access to Lake Grapevine.”
While members maintain the club grounds and amenities, they get some help from local scouts and other groups.
Neander’s grandson built fish habitats for his Eagle Scout project, and set them out in Little Lake, the private lake on Northshore property.
While preservation is a large part of what the Northshore Club is about, it’s also about fun and sport.
The club’s shooting range is a popular member amenity and also serves as a training facility for competitive shooters, including local high school teams and professional athletes.
An interest in trap and skeet shooting was brought up at the club’s annual business meeting in 1955. At the time, it was perfect because of the rural landscape around the property.
“Because the area was so ‘remote’ from the city and open for shooting activities, the skeet and trap ranges were developed,” wrote Hawley. “Many members, with family and friends, enjoy a friendly competition and practice of skills – a shared experience between parent and child, creating memories for all.”
The champions from the shooting competitions can be found in the Northshore clubhouse, which feels right out of the 70s. It is also where members gather for breakfast and lunch cooked and served by volunteers.
However, amid Flower Mound’s rapid growth, the area around Northshore Club has become less remote and more of a natural haven.
So much so that members are seeing more coyotes, deer, turkeys and birds making homes inside club grounds as developments continue on FM 1171 and FM 2499.
“We were always told we would be an oasis in a sea of cement, and that’s how it feels now,” said Campbell. “You enter the gate, turn the corner and have no idea you’re in the middle of 8 million people.”
Residential neighborhoods have been constructed around the borders of Northshore Club as part of the town’s growth, which has obviously brought some growing pains.
The club’s shooting range is currently sanctioned by the National Rifle Association and certified by the state.
Neighbors have brought up issues of the noise and reported some rogue shrapnel, which the club said it is still working and communicating with those neighbors to come up with a compromise.
But the members are steadfast in their main goal to preserve something that seems to be rapidly disappearing, not just in Flower Mound, but all over the state, the nation and the world.
“There are many opportunities for discovery of what nature gives in the form of flora,” wrote Hawley. “The seasons, sunrises and sunsets can provide a respite from the pace of the ‘city’ just outside the gates.”
In a community experiencing rapid growth, the Northshore Club stands as a rare reminder of Flower Mound’s rural past and a commitment to preserving a piece of it for the future.
For more information on the club, check out the club’s Facebook page or reach out to [email protected].
