The Matthew Clarkson Mansion, later home to the Midwood Club and the Union League Club, Flatbush; ca. 1880.

Built in 1836 for Matthew Clarkson, a member of the prominent Flatbush family, this temple-fronted classical mansion once sat on a large tree-lined plot west of Flatbush Avenue. Following Clarkson's death in 1883, at the age of 87, the mansion became the first home of the Midwood Club, a gentlemen's social organization founded in 1889. The Club would eventually buy out Clarkson's heirs and assume ownership of the building.

By 1917, the Midwood Club's membership had declined considerably and the club itself was on the brink of extinction. That year, the Union League Club, formerly located at Grant Square, took over the former Clarkson mansion and restored its place in Brooklyn social life.

In 1937, the building became the Y.M.C.A.'s Flatbush chapter. After a January 1940 fire caused significant damage, the once-proud 104 year old estate was sold for development and razed.