The Evanston Golf club, organized in 1897 when golf was new to the West, was started on the links at Fairmont park. The club moved from Fairmont in 1901 to a new location near the Evanston station on the old electric line, some distance east of Col. Robert T. Van Horn's Fifteenth street country home. A clubhouse was built and the Evanston name adopted. George Matthews was president and George B. Peck vice-president. In the spring of 1905, the club chose a new site farther south. The old home of Col. Thomas Swope (pictured), opposite the entrance to Swope park, along with a 120-acre tract, was leased by the club for a term of 15 years.The Swope residence, built in 1895, was noted for years as one of the most attractive country estates in Jackson County. The house stood well back from the roadway in a rich carpet of grass. It was surrounded by a grove of soft maples, pines and other varieties of shade trees and shrubs. J. C. Fennell, Evanston's president, and R. E. Richardson worked with architects Root & Siemens on plans to add to and convert the old mansion into a suitable clubhouse. Frank P. Sebree was vice-president; Alex Jaussen, treasurer, and George G. Flack, secretary. When completed there were large open fire-places of stone, a tap room for men and in the dining room a gallery for musicians, so that the room could also be used for dancing. Fifteen rooms were available for club members who desired a summer residency. The 18-hole golf course occupied most of the 120-acre tract north of the clubhouse, between Sixty-third and Sixty-fifth streets and Prospect avenue and Swope parkway. James Dalgleish was the club's professional. Today not a physical trace remains of the old club buildings or links. The wide mall and approaches to Swope park, the private homes and Southeast high school seem to have been there forever. Only memory and the continued beauty of grassy slopes remind one of the day when Evanston's golf enthusiasts held sway. Kansas City Star, May 17, 1969.
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