Evergreen Acres Country Club

In late 1955, it was announced that investors were seeking memberships for a brand new country club to be constructed in Washington, called the Evergreen Acres Country Club.  The club was to be located on the south side of Highview Road, now Centennial Drive, in the general location of what is now the Cypress Ridge apartment complex across from Quail Meadows.

This new club promised a golf course and a swimming pool, neither of which existed in Washington at the time.  It also promised a swanky clubhouse for dinners.

The push began for membership commitments, using a unique $395 entrance fee, where $300 was considered a stock certificate.  

Washington insurance man Terry Burns chaired the committee for the new club, which included citizens from Peoria, East Peoria, and Washington.  Other Washingtonians on the committee included Frederick Leitz, Melvin Olson, William Schroeder, Melvin Moehle, Charles Adams, Harold Anderson, Dr. Donald Thompson, and Eugene Dingledine.

On October 12, 1956, plans were announced for constructing the Hillcrest golf course, closer to Washington than the proposed country club site.  Evergreen Acres was close to 50% of their minimum membership goal of 300 individuals necessary to move forward at that time.

Throughout the first half of 1957, promotion occurred in the local media, touting startup costs of $100,000 for the golf course construction and $40,000 for the swimming pool, but membership commitments seemed to stall around 125.  Several meetings were held in Peoria in May and June to help boost membership to the required number.

In September 1957, the project disbanded, and money was returned to committed investors. Despite somewhat inflated numbers reported, only 105 individuals had made payments to the cause, far short of the minimum 300 needed. Speaking to the media upon the idea's dissolution, Terry Burns and Dr. Thompson mentioned that it was surprising to them that a great majority of the committed donors were from Peoria rather than Washington.

Hillcrest Golf Center would open the next summer in 1958, and Highview Hills Country Club, now Quail Meadows Golf Course, would open on Centennial Drive near the proposed site of Evergreen Acres in 1971.