STORY #8: A Fire, A Sale — and the Birth of the Country Club Neighborhood
While plans for a new Omaha Country Club were underway, disaster struck the old clubhouse at 11:30 a.m. on April 30, 1925. A caddy spotted flames above the soda fountain and grill room, and staff rushed to rescue furniture and trophies as firefighters battled the blaze for more than an hour.
The Omaha World-Herald reported $30,000 in damage, with the upper floor “entirely destroyed.” Fortunately, insurance covered repairs, and the clubhouse reopened that summer—now featuring “moving pictures.”
At the same time, the World-Herald reported that the property was under contract with Woods Brothers of Lincoln—pioneers in developing new residential districts in that city. On Feb. 24, 1924, Woods Brothers agreed to pay the Omaha Country Club $150,000 for the land, initially hoping to operate it as a public golf course or, if that plan failed, subdivide it for homes. Under the agreement, they would take possession in early 1927.
By October 1925, plans had shifted. The Metcalfe Co. had purchased the site from Woods Brothers earlier that summer. According to the Country Club District abstract, Metcalfe bought the Country Club land on July 15, 1925, for $225,000. Within months, Metcalfe Co. expanded the vision—adding the L. G. Ihms property (51st to 52nd, Lake to Miami) for $31,500, and Hansen’s Addition east of 52nd and Blondo for $43,000.
In an Aug. 23, 1925 Omaha Daily News Metcalfe Co. ad, Mark Woods of Woods Brothers wrote:
“The Country Club property is the most beautiful piece of ground left for development in the city of Omaha… We know that the Country Club District when developed will be one of the showplaces of Omaha, and that Metcalfe Company… is thoroughly capable of handling this new development.
Omaha is now a great city and it will continue to grow and prosper. The lots in the Country Club District will prove to be one of the best investments that can possibly be made in Omaha or Nebraska.”
Theodore “Ted” Metcalfe subdivided the acreage into residential lots and envisioned a model suburban district with winding boulevards, flowering shrubs, and ornamental lighting. To accelerate development, he paid the Omaha Country Club an additional $10,000 to take possession of the land on Aug. 1, 1926—months earlier than planned.
Metcalfe initially hoped to keep the former clubhouse as a “center of community life” for residents. It stood for several more years before being razed in the 1930s. But the transformation had already begun.
What started as fairways and greens became streets and homes—marking the birth of the Country Club Neighborhood.
Have fun locating your little slice of Country Club on the included plat map!
Source: A Story of Omaha Country Club Omaha World-Herald Oct. 11, 1925__p15
Photo Captions:
Article on the Country Club Clubhouse fire from the May 1, 1925 Evening World-Herald.
1925 photo of the OCC Clubhouse exterior after the fire. From The Durham Archives (BF51-111).
Interior photo of the old clubhouse located at 56th and Military Avenue, dated on Sept, 23, 1925 -- after the fire. From The Durham Archives (BF51-108).
The Omaha Country Club golf course looking north before their move in late 1926. Note the Nebraska Power Co. Benson Branch building on the right, now a residence on North 52nd Street. And if you zoom in you can see Krug Park amusements just across Military Avenue in this 1920 image from The Durham Museum Archives.
In 1925 Metcalfe Co. buys additional land as reported in the Nov. 15, 1925 edition of the Omaha World-Herald.
Omaha World-Herald reports that grading work begins a year earlier than planned in their March 21, 1926 edition.
Plat map of the Country Club District that the Metalfe Co. used to lots.
