Dollarhide's Beginning

EDITOR'S NOTE: Larry Collins acts as camp manager of Dollarhide, a traditional hunting camp in central Alabama near the Mississippi line that has existed since 1888.

Question: What do you do at Dollarhide?
Answer: I manage the camp at Dollarhide.

Question: When did Dollarhide start?
Answer: Dollarhide started in 1888. Question: Why and how did Dollarhide get its start? Answer: In 1888, several political officials in Tuscaloosa formed this club and named it after Mrs. Jane Dollarhide who owned land in the nearby Forkland area. A lot of people assumed that the name Dollarhide derived from the hides we trapped and sold, but the name actually grew from family tradition.

Question: How many acres did Dollarhide start off with?
Answer: I don't know for sure how much the original land covered, but right now we have 6500 acres.

Question: Is Dollarhide a corporation?
Answer: Yes, Dollarhide is an incorporated club.

Question: How much did hunters initially pay to get in Dollarhide? Answer: In 1942, Dollarhide shares sold for $1250 each.

Question: What value does a share have today?
Answer: The value's way up there, too much to say. A share is worth a lot of money.

Question: Has Dollarhide always operated as a dog-hunting club? Answer: No, Dollarhide started as more of a duck-hunting operation. Back in the 20's and 30's not that many deer lived on Dollarhide land, so we hunted a lot of ducks. Now we don't have many ducks, but we have a lot of deer. We didn't have any turkey down here until after 1958 when we restocked the land with turkey. We started hunting turkey again in 1961. Dollarhide has everything from squirrel, turkey and deer to rabbit and some quail. We also have 12 to 14 lakes and seven miles of river where members and their guests can fish in.

Question: Is Dollarhide a non-profit organization?
Answer: Yes, all the money we make goes back into the club.

Question: How many duck ponds do you have?
Answer: Dollarhide has about three major ponds, a river, Dollarhide Creek, two fields that we plant strictly for ducks and one big pond that covers a little over 200 acres.

Tomorrow: Dollarhide Traditions