Club informed that Butler land to be sold (1922) but offered first right of refusal on their leased land and two additional acres. Tennis Realty Corp. formed to acquire the land and title taken in 1923

Two years passed, and land prices rose sharply. In 1922 the Butlers informed the Club that the property it occupied would be put up for sale forthwith. The Club received first refusal for a three-acre site—encompassing the existing courts and two additional acres selling for $20,000, $5,000 more than in 1920.

Faced with this friendly but firm notice to buy or move out, the Club acted decisively. John Jackson (head of a special committee evaluating possible locations for a permanent home) was instrumental in reorganizing the Club so it could finance the purchase. The Club became two legal entities, a corporation that bought and held the property and a tennis club that leased it

The new Tennis Realty Corporation planned to issue capital stock of $20,000, divided into 400 shares, to be sold to old and new members at $50 a share. Each member could buy up to ten shares. As membership in the Club was to be limited to 200 families, it was hoped that many individuals would buy two or more shares. To remain in the Club, existing members had to buy a share in the corporation, and the initiation fee for incoming members was the purchase price of one share.

The organizers did not limit the plan to tennis players. The Scarsdale Inquirer reported in 1923: “It is the desire of the officers and Board of Governors to enroll upon the books of the Club all of the leading citizens of the town, whether tennis players or not. The Club is in reality strictly a community project and deserves the assistance and support of all.”

Dues were increased to $25 a year. There were four membership categories: voting, junior, season, and honorary. Any individual over the age of sixteen was eligible for voting membership if he or she held stock in the Realty Corporation.

The seven-member Board of Directors of the new Tennis Realty Corporation held its first meeting in August 1922 at the Yale Club in Manhattan. Founding directors were J. Lawrence Gilson, Alfred W. Haywood, John Jackson, Weyland Pfeiffer, Leland E. Stowell, Lester R. Stewart, and Warner W. Kent, all of Scarsdale.

The 1922 purchase deed forbade the buyer from building hotels, saloons, barrooms, or any places selling intoxicating liquor. Terms were $4,000 in cash, and a mortgage at six percent.

Despite initial optimism, stock sales lagged badly, and by the end of March 1923 only 38 of 400 shares had been sold. However, Emily Butler held the purchase agreement in abeyance while a new campaign was devised to attract members.

The Club finally took title to its own property in 1923, after forty years on bits of borrowed land.

Source: Diana Reische, Fox Meadow Tennis Club – The First Hundred Years, 1983