Return to History Return to Community Minikahda
has Come a Long Way
–
Lyndon Benson (ECCO News, 1980)
For
over 80 years ECCO residents have looked across Lake Calhoun and viewed the
familiar white building and the water tower of the Minnekahda Club on the high
hill on the west shore. How did this club come into being?
During
the summer of 1898 three young couples riding bicycles pedaled west along the
north shore of Lake Calhoun looking for a nice place to have a picnic.
On the northwest corner of the lake they turned off on a dirt trail
(Excelsior Boulevard) and pedaled across the swampy area that was known as Kitty
Ging Hollow. A few years before in
1894 a young seamstress named Kitty Ging had been lured to this area and
murdered by a hired assassin. The
thoughts of this event were quickly forgotten when they arrived at the top of
the hill with its delightful view to the east. As they pickniced and
viewed the surrounding terrain with its gently rolling hills and small creek,
they became aware that with a little work it could be made, into a fine golf
course.
Golf
was relatively new at that time, supposedly a game for only the wealthy. The
Town and Country Golf Club had been founded in St. Paul in 1888 and The
Minneapolis Golf Club (later renamed Bryn Mawr) was founded in the spring of
1898. Many still talked, however,
of a better location and a fresh start.
They
eventually persuaded three men to inspect the site; the three were J. W.
Raymond, President of the Northwestern National Bank, Judge Martin B. Koon and a
Charles M. Herrington. Their
enthusiastic approval of the site resulted in calling a meeting of professional
and business men at the West Hotel. Pessimism
prevailed at the first meeting. The
population of Minneapolis was only 200,000 at that time, and they doubted that
sufficient membership time could be obtained and the site was way out in the
country. The second meeting went
better, however, and charter officers were elected. The first meeting of the
officers and Board of Governors took
place on November 11 1898.
Much
of the land that was selected for the site had been owned by L. F. Menage, a
prominent real estate man in the Minneapolis area for many years.
He first acquired the property in the early 1870's and had it platted
into huge lots, averaging 600 feet wide and 300 feet deep.
It was called Menage's Lakeside Park.
A high lookout tower and possibly a small hotel were erected on the hill
above the lake.
The
lots did not sell probably because of its remoteness and lack of transportation.
In 1890 the area was replotted into very small lots, averaging 25 feet
wide by 127 feet deep. This
replotting was called Mendoza Park. The
promotion stalled, however, when Menage jumped bail on a charge involving the
sale of non-existent grain elevators and left town..
The
various committees of the new club bent to their tasks with vigor and
dedication, and the results were
almost immediate. The entire
membership of 600 was secured by April, 1899, with
another 50 on the waiting list. Selecting
the name of the pledging club was an important task of another committee.
Two Indian words meaning "by the side of water" were eventually
selected. Result - Minnekahda!
The building committee secured the services of the well known architect, Frank B. Long and made arrangements to tour a number of western cities to inspect their golf clubs. The club in St. Louis impressed them greatly, and it was decided to use hat club building as a model. Except for its dimensions, the club building as originally built closely resembled the St. Louis facility.
On
a dreary day in the winter of 1899, several club officials and the building
contractor drove their horse drawn carriages through the snowdrifts to stake out
the dimensions of the new building. One
of the participants that day wrote that the remoteness and isolation of the site
impressed him. Across the sheet of
ice on Lake Calhoun he could see
only a greenhouse and a few houses. Little
did he realize that within a few years the automobile would make it very
accessible.
The
original 9-hole golf course was designed by William Watson, the first golf
professional. He was paid $2,500
for development of the course. The
clubhouse was completed in the early summer of 1899 and on July 15, Judge Koon
drove the first ball on the course.
In
the early days transportation to the club was a problem. It could be reached by
bicycle or horse- drawn carriage, but the load from Lake Street was almost
impassible in wet or snowy weather. They considered opening a road around the south end of the
lake but the project was too costly. The
club, therefore, purchased a steamboat that had formerly plied the waters of
Lake Minnetonka. The boat was named
the Ariel. Club members would take
the streetcar to 31st and Irving, walk to the former Luriline Club boat dock at
Lake Street and East Calhoun where they boarded the boat.
A boathouse pavilion was built at the foot of the hill below the
clubhouse where the club members could prepare for the stiff climb tip the
wooden stairs.
A
few years later a streetcar line was extended along Lake Street and the club
then began to use a horse drawn bus to meet the streetcar at stated intervals.
The use of the steamboat was stopped at the end of the season in 1906 and
the boathouse pavilion was sold. An
automobile was then purchased for use as a bus.
A fee of five cents was charged.
Additions
of property were frequently made in the early years and in 1907 the course was
expanded to 18 holes. In some cases
members bought tracts of land and held them until the club had sufficient funds. In other cases
individual property owners permitted the club to cross and use their land until
it could be purchased.
In
1909 the club conveyed as a gift to the Minneapolis Park Board, its entire
frontage on the water for construction of West Calhoun Boulevard.
In conjunction with this gift the Club felt that it was -granted the
right in-perpetuity to take water from Lake Calhoun.
This caused such political friction that irate citizens protested that
Minnekahda was drying up the lake.
Improvements to the course have been made over the years. The clubhouse itself has been remodeled many times to accomodate changing needs. Tennis courts and trapshooting were early additions to the facilities and the swimming pool was added in I938. More recently a platform tennis court was added in 1968. These courts can be used all year and are constructed on a raised platform so that snow and ice can be pushed off. A warming house is located nearby.