Hillcrest Golf Center

On October 12, 1956, brothers Leroy and Harvey Slagell purchased 55 acres of the Irwin Keil farm outside of Washington. They intended to construct a golf recreational center with an 18-hole par three course, a driving range, and a miniature golf course. The land was adjacent to a tree grove called Holland’s Timber. Par three courses were becoming very popular in other parts of the country, but none were in the local area.

The driving range and miniature golf courses opened very quickly in the spring of 1957, and at this time, the Slagells had taken on a partner, Roland Brubaker.

The 18-hole course, however, would take much longer to develop.  The spring and summer of 1957 brought on a couple of large projects. One was creating the special greens for the course, which included a seven-inch layer of sand as their base.  The other was constructing a million-gallon lake to serve as a hazard on two holes.  A 1958 course opening was going to depend heavily on the spring weather.  In perfect conditions the course could have been ready by June 1, 1958, and they only missed it by a few days.

Originally, the fees to play were $1.00 for 18 holes during the week and $1.25 for weekends.  Also, the original layout of the course had the front nine and the back nine opposite of what they are today.

In 1962, Roland and Ada Brubaker bought out the Slagell brothers and became sole owners of the course, making it a family business.

In 2013, the tornado that barreled through Washington devastated Hillcrest. The pro shop, driving range, and miniature golf course were destroyed.

The Brubakers vowed to rebuild, and the course reopened in 2014. The clubhouse, which was totally destroyed, did not reopen until May 2015.

The miniature golf course, which was not covered by insurance, was rebuilt by local high school students from East Peoria, Eureka, Illini Bluffs, Limestone, Metamora, Morton, Pekin, Washington, and Woodruff schools in conjunction with the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council’s Strategic Manufacturing Group. It reopened in June 2015.

In 2022 the Brubakers sold the course to a developer and rumors swirled of changes to come.