The Citadel Beach House is located on the Isle of Palms front beach. Colonel Robert R. McCormick (U.S.A.) served with General Charles P. Summerall in the First Division in World War I. Col. McCormick was a great soldier and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. In 1941 he deeded his estate, called Whitehall, in Aiken, S.C., to General Summerall, with the stipulation that it be General Summerall's home for life. Summerall lived there until his death in 1954. The property was sold in 1957, and the proceeds were used to purchase the land and construct the first beach house on the Isle of Palms. It was dedicated on November 30, 1958, and named the Colonel Robert McCormick Beach Club of The Citadel. It was General Mark W. Clark's intention that the facility be for recreational use by cadets, other students and Citadel personnel.
The beach house was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo on September 21, 1989. Insurance funds covered the cost of rebuilding. The Robert R. McCormick Foundation covered the cost of refurnishing the facility. On March 31, 1991, was held the official dedication of the new beach house, which was named the Colonel Robert R. McCormick Beach Club of The Citadel.
(Sources: Citadel Archives file, Beach Club--Chronology; "Isle of Palms Beach House to be Dedicated Nov. 30," Brigadier, November 22, 1958, pp. 1, 6; "Citadel's Beach Club Is Dedicated,"Charleston Evening Post, December 1, 1958, p. 3-B)
