Dean Karau Kewanee history: Golf - Kewanee’s history of a walk spoiled

I used to play a lot of golf. But I discovered the error of my ways – for me at least. Nevertheless, for many, it’s an enjoyable and rewarding pastime. Here’s a brief look at Kewanee’s golf courses dating back to the late 19th century.I’ve written before about the cradle of Kewanee golf, The Outing Club at Red Oak Hollow. The links were laid out in September 1896, and the club charged an entrance fee of $10 and an annual fee of $3 to belong to the Club and play the hilly course.

The course was, well, coarse. Greens were nearly indistinguishable from fairways, and at least a couple of greens served two holes. The rocks and stones cleared from the course were piled and then covered with earth – mounds called “chocolate drops,” the first hazards. Fairways crossed each other, creating another hazard. But it was golf, and golf became a Kewanee passion.

The two miles plus to Red Oak Hollow, however, was a bit of a deterrent for some who didn’t want to commit an entire day to the game.

By 1899, the new Kewanee Golf Club had laid out new links at the Kewanee Fairground. Four holes were set on the fairground itself, and the other five in John Zang’s pasture to the east. Unlike the links at Red Oak Hollow, no hole was a duplicate and none of the fairways crossed. The course had a combination of relatively easy holes in the pasture with few obstacles, placing a premium on long, straight drives. (A long drive in those days carried perhaps 150 yards.) But on the fairground, the hazards were numerous, fences and the racetrack to name two, and required accuracy.Kewanee had two golf courses as the 20th century began.

However, because the fairground was used for other activities, it was not an ideal location for a golf course. Once again, the search was on for a new location for a closer-to-town golf option.

John Ladd’s farm on the road to Neponset, about one-and-a-half miles to the east of downtown Kewanee, was the answer. In the spring of 1902, work began on the pasture, described as “very desirable grounds,” located just to the north of the railroad tracks. After the nine-hole course was laid out and play began, a small clubhouse was built on a knoll overlooking the picturesque scenery. The initiation fee was two dollars and members paid monthly dues of 50 cents and the caddy fees were 10 cents.

But in 1906, the Kewanee Golf Club’s lease on the Ladd pasture expired, and the club began searching for a new location for a course. It found one on the farm of August Fuerst on the Kentville Road east of town. It was not far from where the Kewanee Coal & Mining Company would be sinking a new shaft and employing up to 250 men.That spring, work began on the new nine-hole course. The club house from the Ladd farm links was moved to the new grounds, nestled in a shady spot in a grove of maple trees. By the end of May, golf had begun again on the east side of the city.

Golf continued to be played at Red Oak Hollow. But as the game continued to grow in popularity, Kewaneeans wanted a long-term solution to move away from “pasture pool,” where holes changed regularly at the whim of the owner of the property as he changed crop locations. The solution came early in the second decade of the new century.A. J. Anderson had made the first-ever hole-in-one in Kewanee, at the Ladd farm links’ 135-yard first hole. With similar acumen, Anderson stepped up to the tee box to drive the development of Midland Country Club.

In 1910, Anderson personally took an option from the James Sadler estate to buy 80 acres at “Sadler’s Crossing,” southwest of Wethersfield. Discussions had begun in 1910 for a new course, and soon Galva residents were interested in a joint effort with Kewaneeans to develop the links. By early 1911, a committee was formed to finalize the location and begin planning the course and a clubhouse.

The name “Midland” was chosen as a compromise between Kewanee and Galva supporters. There was an orchard on one end of the course, a grove of trees in another part, and an open space in the center. Excellent roads led to the club, and the interurban railway line between Galva and Kewanee already had a waiting station at Sadler crossing. A well-known Chicago golf course architect was retained to layout the links, and contracts were let for the club house. (In 1911, prior to the opening of the club, camping was permitted, with families from both Kewanee and Galva utilizing the grounds.)

Finally, the Midland Country Club’s formal opening was held on July 4, 1912, with an estimated 75 golfers playing that day.

Midland helped Kewanee grow its golf game, slowed only by the United States’ entrance into World War I.Then, in 1919, E. E. Baker, with A. J. Anderson whispering in his ear, proposed the development of a park system in Kewanee. Baker’s donation of $50,000 and his later establishment of a $400,000 endowment to support the park district guaranteed its success.

After Northeast, Chautauqua, and Liberty Parks were in operation, the park district turned to its penultimate project, Valley Park, to be carved out of Coal Valley, northwest of the city. Plans for the park, later renamed Baker Park to honor Baker’s munificence, included roads, walks, dams, a lake, a field house, a number of shelters, a playground, a large picnic ground, and a possible campground.

Oh, yes, and a golf course.

By May 1925, visitors could drive the two-miles of gravel roads over hills and down valleys through the park. Along the way, they would find two lagoons, crushed stone walking paths with rustic bridges over waterways, 22,000 planted shrubs among the stands of large shade trees, a picnic ground, a gun club, and numerous benches on which to take in the scenery. On July 4, the golf course was opened to the public. (You can read more about Baker Park in my article, Valley Park at Kewanee’s Coal Valley.)

Both Midland Country Club and the Baker Park golf courses grew to 18 holes and at each many other improvements were made. And each survives to this day.

I may not play golf, but I’m still proud that our hometown has two fine golfing options for those that do.

This article originally appeared on Star Courier: Dean Karau Kewanee history: Golf - Kewanee’s history of a walk spoiled