HISTORICAL POSTCARDS OF SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI
Springfield Country Club
The Springfield Country Club opened May 30, 1907. It was located at 1325 South Glenstone Avenue, between Meadowmere and Portland Streets. There was a golf course (the first in Springfield), a lake stocked with fish, and people talked about building summer homes around the lake. It also included a dance floor and stables. Early members were Thomas T. Crenshaw, Harry Sanford Jewell and Dr. Edward Martin Shepard. Springfield's famous Horton Smith, pro golfer and Master's Champion, was an assistant golf pro at the golf course.
he Country Club building, shown in the postcard, ended its life on November 24, 1939, when it caught fire and burned. An overheated oil stove was blamed for the blaze.
The first building used by the country club was a farmhouse, then a frame structure which burned and, finally, a large impressive club house. As the city grew, the area began to seem less "country" and finally the club was disbanded. John Q. Hammons and Wayne Fredrick built the Country Club Shopping Center on the land in 1951-52. It was one of the first shopping centers built in Springfield during the post-World War II era. The clubhouse was near the western edge of today's shopping center. John Q. Hammons eventually owned all the land of the original Country Club and the names of the streets and developments reflect its history: Fairway Avenue, Country Club Estates and Country Club Terraces.
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