Club History
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA HILLS COUNTRY CLUB
In 1963 the Corporation known as Columbia Hills Country Club, Inc. purchased from Judge Henry J. Williams (whom we call “Henry” herein) the golf course then and now known as Columbia Hills Country Club with all the assets used in the operation of the Club. Before we discuss the purchase provisions, we will examine the history of Columbia Hills prior to 1963. The property consists of acreage in excess of 166 acres with the same Tudor Clubhouse which still stands as the basic structure, although additions and changes too numerous to mention have been made in the recent years.
Our history goes back to 1926 when the property already was in the Williams’ family, the owner then being George L. Williams, who was the uncle of Henry. George L. Williams had never had a golf club in his hands prior to 1926 and was enticed into a game with Henry and immediately became bitten by the “golf bug”, as we all have.
He thereupon began the planning and development of his 166 acres of land in Lorain County, Ohio and started what became, in our opinion, the most scenic golf course in Northern Ohio. The actual designer and “architect” of the Golf Course was Harold Paddock, well known in golf circles and the later builder and owner of Aurora Country Club. He employed Bruce Long, as the architect to design our Tudor Style Clubhouse at the spot, where it presently stands. Construction of the course began in earnest in 1927 and 1928 and the course and clubhouse were both completed in 1929 when it was officially open for play.
It is interesting to note how the name “Columbia Hills” came into existence. When the property was first acquired by George L. Williams, it was acquired to be used as a “pig farm” and pursuant to an agreement with a neighboring municipality, all of the garbage of that municipality was to be hauled to the Williams’ farm and then it would be used for feed for the porkers. This deal fell through when the municipality refused to deliver further than their city limits and it became impractical to haul the steaming delectibles from the city limits of the municipality out to the Williams’ farm. Accordingly, the farm lay idle prior to the time that George L. decided to begin the development of it into a golf course.
As we stated, the golf course was placed in operation in 1929 with George L. Williams as sole operator and proprietor until January 1, 1938. The name of Columbia Hills required approval of the Columbia Township Trustees. The intersection of Route 82 and Columbia Road was known as “Copopa”. So we almost became known as the “Copopa Golf Club”. George L. was very insistent that the name be abandoned and, accordingly, the Township Trustees renamed the corner of Columbia Road at Route 82 to Columbia Hills Corners. George L. then was permitted to name the golf course Columbia Hills Country Club. The Township Trustees were so desirous of having a golf course there (instead of the pig farm) that they agreed quickly to change the name Copopa to Columbia Hills Corners.
Columbia Hills first Golf Pro was Harry Reese, who George “stole” from Ridgewood Golf Course. He was a good friend of George’s and helped in the planning for the new golf course. In 1933, Johnny Randall took over as Golf Pro and Club Manager and served in those capacities for 25 years until his untimely death in 1958.
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