Wisconsin Aerial Photographs - 1937 to 1940

[Sven Nilsen]

Casa Loma CC f/k/a Aquilla CC (Powers Lake)

1937 Aerial -



The course here had a short yet very eventful history.  Aquilla CC was formed with grand plans for a multi-course resort to be utilized by members of the Knights of Columbus of Chicago.  Within a few years of its inception, the project was sold to wealthy Chicago African Americans, a move that did not receive local favor.  At this time the course was renamed Casa Loma CC. 

Like Langston, Shady Rest and a number of other courses, Casa Loma played a brief yet important role in the history of minority golf in the United States.  In 1930, the course hosted the UGA National Open Championship, otherwise known as
the "Negro National Open," which was won by Edison Marshall of New Orleans.  The course was set to host the 1931 tournament but it was moved due to the foreclosure of the club.

The 1937 Aerial above appears to show a course that was possibly still being maintained.  What happened to the course after the foreclosure remains a mystery to me.

April 1, 1926 Burlington Free Press -



Sept. 23, 1926 Burlington Free Press -



Aug. 1, 1929 The Journal Times -



Oct. 22, 1929 Kenosha Evening News -

[Sven Nilsen]

Chenequa CC (Hartland)



Although the club's website note Bendelow laid out the course here in 1912, the contemporaneous accounts note he was there in 1908.

Sept. 3, 1908 Chicago Tribune -

[Sven Nilsen]

Chequamegon CC n/k/a Chequamegon Bay CC (Ashland)



The course was taken over by the local Elks lodge in the 1940's and expanded to 18 holes at a much later date.

[Sven Nilsen]

Chetek GC (Chetek)

1939 Aerial



Built around 1924, the course eventually moved across the street and became Sunset View GC.

July 23, 1924 Leader-Telegram -

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Chippewa Falls CC a/k/a Chippewa CC n/k/a Lake Wissota Golf & Events (Chippewa Falls)

1938 Aerial -



Located a bit northeast of Eau Claire, golf came to Chippewa Falls in the early 1920's.

April 3, 1920 Chippewa Leader-Telegram -



April 16, 1923 Chippewa Herald-Telegram -

[Sven Nilsen]

Chiwaukee GC (Kenosha)

1937 Aerial -



The Kenosha Sand Dunes stretch along Lake Michigan from the south end of the city down to the Illinois border and comprises a remnant lake plain prairie of ridges and swales formed as the lake receded.  One might think this was perfect land for golf, almost links land.

Today there are no golf courses on this stretch.  But in the late 1920's, there were massive plans for development here that would have involved the creation of two courses.  Only one of these was ever built.

The first course would have been the center piece of a massive project to be called Edithton Beach backed by Edith Rockefeller McCormick (John D.'s daughter).  Langford & Moreau were contracted to design an 18 hole course by the name of North Shore Acres.  The Depression ended the project, and eventually bankrupted Edith.

But our story centers on the smaller plat of land that lay just to the south of Edithton called Chiwaukee-On-The-Lake, a similar development backed by J. H. Penny & Sons of Chicago.  Charles Wagstaff was hired to design an 18 hole course for Chiwaukee.  Contrary to some newspaper reports, only 9 holes were eventually built.  The Depression killed the real estate play at Chiwaukee as well, with the course living on for a short while as a public course.

If anyone wants to read more about Edith, Chiwaukee and these two developments, I highly recommend visiting the following site -

https://www.kenosha.com/2021/07/23/85th-street-the-intersection-of-ancient-sand-dunes-virgin-prairie-a-rockefeller-and-phil-sander/

July 22, 1927 Kenosha Evening News -



Sept. 13, 1929 Kenosha Evening News -



April 24, 1936 Kenosha Evening News -

[Sven Nilsen]

Coldwater Canyon GC a/k/a Berry's Dells GC a/k/a Chula Vista GC n/k/a Pineaire CC (Kilbourn)

1938 Aerial -



Well before the water parks and souvenir shops, the Wisconsin Dells were a much more bucolic setting.  Unlike the polished lake resorts closer to Chicago and Milwaukee, many of the more northern retreats centered on a more rustic lifestyle. 

The Coldwater Canyon GC (one of many names including Dells GC which is easy to confuse with the Dells-Ringling CC built south of Kilbourn) was frequented by guests at Berry's Hotel and the nearby Chula Vista Campground.

April 19, 1923 Portage Daily Register -



June 17, 1932 Portage Daily Register -



Berry's Hotel Postcard -

[Sven Nilsen]

Columbus CC (Columbus)

1937 Aerial -



Another small town, small budget project that lives on today.

June 6, 1930 Capital Times -

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Commodore Barry CC n/k/a Twin Lakes CC (Twin Lakes)

1937 Aerial -



An ambitious project at Twin Lakes done by the Chicago Knights of Columbus, possibly the successor to their initial effort at Aquilla CC (which became Casa Loma) just down the road.  The course is credited to Leonard Macomber.  Anytime you see Wendell Miller's name attached to a project you know they weren't cutting corners.  This is the second Macomber/Miller combo I've seen, the other being Kishwauketoe at Lake Geneva.

May 29, 1929 Kenosha Evening News -



July 30, 1930 Kenosha News -

[Sven Nilsen]

Commodore Hotel GC a/k/a Leathem Smith Lodge GC (Sturgeon Bay)

1938 Aerial -



Built in 1928 as a 9 hole course for the Commodore Hotel, credit has been given to Langford & Moreau.  I have not seen anything that confirms their work here. 

The hotel and course were the vision of businessman Leathem D. Smith, known as the Frank Lloyd Wright of the shipping industry.  Smith took over an existing company founded by his father and his partner that began with a lumber mill and later a quarry and a shipyard that was responsible for the Staten Island Ferries.  The company built the first bridge over Sturgeon Bay.  Smith would go on to make the bulk of his fortune during World War II making ships for the Navy.

1950 Postcard -

[Sven Nilsen]

Country Club Estates f/k/a Geneva Lake Yacht and GC (Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake)

1937 Aerial -



Another Bendelow on Lake Geneva, this course was built adjacent to Big Foot CC.

May 4, 1926 Chicago Tribune -



May 13, 1926 Lake Geneva Regional News -

[Sven Nilsen]

Currie Park Municipal GC (Wauwatosa)

1937 Aerial -



Predating Brown Deer Park by a year, Currie Park was also laid out by George Hansen, custodian of the Grant Park links.

April 18, 1927 The Post-Crescent -

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Darlington GC (Darlington)

1937 Aerial -



An early 1920's small town 9 holer.

Oct. 20, 1922 Wisconsin State Journal -

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Decatur Lake GC (Brodhead)

1937 Aerial -



A 9 hole course built around 1927.

[Sven Nilsen]

Delavan Lake CC a/k/a Delavan CC (Delavan)

1937 Aerial -



Delavan Lake became a hotspot for Chicagoans heading north around the turn of the century.  There are reports of a course here in the early guides, but this club wasn't started until around 1911 when the Delavan Lake GC was founded as an offshoot of the Delavan Lake Yacht Club.  A 9 hole course was built by Harry Turpie and expanded to 18 holes in the early '20's.

The property of the club was put up for foreclosure sale in 1938.

1901 Harper's Guide -



May 1913 American Golfer -



May 12, 1921Lake Geneva Regional News -



Sept. 8, 1922 Republican-Northwestern -

[Sven Nilsen]

Delbrook GC (Delavan)

1937 Aerial -



Also located at Delavan, Delbrook was built as an 18 hole municipal course in 1928.

[Sven Nilsen]

Dells-Ringling CC a/k/a Mirror Lake Inn GC a/k/a Dells CC (Kilbourn)

1937 Aerial -



It took me a while to decipher the difference between Coldwater Canyon GC and this one, as both used the word "Dells" in their name at various points.  Eventually it became clear that one was built north of Kilbourn (Coldwater) and one south (Dells-Ringling).  While the Coldwater course persists to this day, Dells-Ringling went NLE a while back.

Every once in a while during these exercises you stumble across a bit of a surprise.  I was unaware of the connection between the Ringling family and Baraboo, WI, where the family moved in 1855.  AL. Ringling (that is how the first name was spelled) would return to Baraboo later in life along with his brothers building a mansion there in 1905.  The Ringling Bros. Circus (pre-purchase by the Ringling's of the Barnum & Bailey Circus) was run out of Baraboo.

After Al. passed away in 1916, his widow went on to build the Mirror Lake Inn and in 1926 the golf course built in 1923 was incorporated as the Dells-Ringling CC.

Oct. 17, 1923 Register Democrat -



Sept. 16, 1929 Wisconsin State Journal -



Nov. 3, 1929 Wisconsin State Journal -

[Sven Nilsen]

Eagle River CC (Eagle River)

1938 Aerial -



Don't have much to say on this one other than Eagle River is the Snowmobile Capital of the World.

Dec. 30, 1924 The Capital Times -

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Eagle Springs GC (Eagle)

1937 Aerial -



There is a great Feature Interview on this site with Matt Krug, the owner of the resort -

https://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/feature-interview-with-matt-krug/

The course's website as well as a number of other sources note this as the oldest course in the state with a date of 1893 for when golf started here and indicate the course was designed by A. G. Spalding.  Some sources note Spaulding's work was on a later version of the course at a date after Spalding had died. 

I don't want to get into a breakdown of the history here, but I haven't seen anything that verifies the 1893 date or Spalding's involvement.

[Sven Nilsen]

Eau Claire CC (Eau Claire)

1939 Aerial -



Golf started here in 1901 on a 9 hole course laid out by J. M. Watson and improved by L. G. Thorp.  In 1929 the club built a new 18 hole course, this time calling in Tom Vardon and Charles Ramsdell from Minneapolis.

June 20, 1901 The Weekly Telegram -



March 10, 1929 Leader-Telegram -



Aug. 22, 1929 Leader-Telegram -

[Sven Nilsen]

Edgerton CC (Edgerton)



There was an early course here around the turn of the century.  Then golf took a bit of a hiatus in Edgerton before being revived with a fervor in 1920.

1899 Official Golf Guide -



March 4, 1920 The Representative -

[Sven Nilsen]

Evansville CC (Evansville)

1937 Aerial -



Another small town 9 holer.

April 15, 1927 Wisconsin State Journal -

[Sven Nilsen]

Everett Resort GC a/k/a Eagle Waters GC n/k/a Lake Forest GC (Eagle River)

1938 Aerial -



This course started as a private club for the wealthiest vacationers in Eagle River.  in the 1950's, Dwight Eisenhower vacationed here and played the links.  The course exists today as the Lake Forest GC.

Nov. 5, 1915 Eagle River Review -



6th Hole -



8th Hole -



Dec. 20, 1923 Eagle River Review -

[Sven Nilsen]

Four Seasons Club (Pembine)

1938 Aerial -



There is a murky history of Chicago gangsters retreating to the Northwoods when they needed to escape the heat.  Every small town seems to have a tale of a visit by Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson or Capone.  One such tale claims Capone would retreat to the Four Seasons Club on Miscauno Island on the border of Wisconsin and Michigan.  The almost castle-like defenses of the island lend some credibility to the fable.

As the article below notes, the golf course predates the formation of the Four Islands Club, which took over the Miscauno Inn in the early 1920's.


In 1929, 9 holes were added making 18 in total with the work being done by Sam Pelchar of United States Golf Architects.  Where these 9 extra holes were located is a mystery to me as the aerial seems to only show 9 without much room for more.

Aug. 12, 1922 Green Bay Press-Gazette -



Aug. 10, 1929 Green Bay Press-Gazette -

[Sven Nilsen]

Fox Lake CC (Fox Lake)

1940 Aerial -



Golf started Fox Lake around 1918, with Peter Jans (working on behalf of Bendelow) improving what was most like a very rudimentary course in 1919. 

A new course was built in 1921 and remains today at that site.

March 27, 1919 The Representative -



Dec. 1, 1921 The Representative -



April 27, 1922 The Representative -