The Early Years...

In the fall of 1898, two young, well-to-do Ypsilantians Cora (Cornwell) Henry, having just returned from a summer vacation on Martha's Vineyard, and I. Newton Swift, a student at Yale, introduced to their friend Daniel L. Quirk, Jr. "a wonderful game" being played on the East Coast. Convincing a friendly farmer on the west edge of town to allow them to sink three decapitated tomato cans in his freshly-cut hay field, the threesome invited friends to join them for the new game of golf.

Enthusiasm for the game was infectious. On July 11, 1899, a group of 15 Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor residents met and officially formed Washtenaw Country Club. Signers of the Articles of Association included A.A. Van Cleve, S.E. Dodge, R.W. Hemphill, Jr., E.C. Cornwell, J.B. Colvan, H.S. Platt, Charles D. Church, Henry W. Douglas, William Gardam, David B. Dodge, D.L. Quirk, Jr., I. Newton Swift, W.L. Pack, Duane Spalsbury and David R. Morford.

On July 18, 1899, the club was incorporated.

While it has been acclaimed "the second oldest golf club in Michigan," Washtenaw actually is the third. Detroit Country Club was started as a nine-hole layout in about 1889, while Saginaw Country Club started its course in early 1899, a few months ahead of Washtenaw.