Fairfield Golf & Country Club — the oldest operating club west of the Mississippi — celebrates 130 years

The oldest repeatedly working golf membership west of the Mississippi —  a two-hour journey from Des Moines — is celebrating its a hundred and thirtieth anniversary this month.

The Fairfield Golf & Nation Membership, in southeast Iowa, was first organized in 1892 as Kahgahgee Golf Membership, a Native American title derived from the close by Crow Creek, based on a information launch from the golf membership.

A log cabin bought in 1900 served because the preliminary clubhouse, and in 1914, members integrated underneath the title Fairfield Golf Membership. In the present day, the golf membership affords leisure alternatives for members together with golf, swimming and eating.

In accordance with the membership’s web site, a number of different golf equipment and programs have made related claims about being the oldest membership or course west of the Mississippi. The Burlington Golf Membership in Iowa, for instance, was integrated on June 7, 1899, and claims it is the oldest “frequently operated integrated” membership west of the Mississippi.

“Should you care about ‘incorporation,’ Burlington’s declare could also be legitimate,” Fairfield officers say. However “Fairfield Golf & Nation Membership has claimed to be the ‘Oldest Membership West of the Mississippi.’ Not one of the different golf equipment we examined refute that declare.”

The Fairfield membership will have fun its landmark birthday Aug. 27 with reside jazz on the clubhouse patio, golf video games together with placing and driving contests; foods and drinks stations, and a reside public sale, based on the discharge.

Extra: These are Iowa’s prime 5 private and non-private golf programs, ranked by Golfweek

Moreover, the occasion will spotlight the launch of the Kahgahgee Historic Golf Basis, which can increase sources to keep up the course so it will possibly proceed to offer leisure, financial, social and environmental advantages to the Fairfield and Jefferson County neighborhood. 

“For 130 years, the Fairfield Golf & Nation Membership has been an integral a part of the Fairfield neighborhood and an establishment that’s distinctive to our space,” stated Lori Schaefer-Weaton, president of the golf membership’s board of administrators. “We’re pleased with our historical past and look ahead to the following 130 years.”

Virginia Barreda is a trending and normal task reporter for the Des Moines Register. She might be reached at vbarreda@gannett.com. Comply with her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.