Barton Hills Country Club history

In 1922 the clubhouse was built and the course extended and redesigned. "The idea of the country club was to embellish the subdivision," explains Edmond DeVine, who today lives in the Underdown house and as a boy often came to the golf course with his father.

Edison's hopes for Barton Hills peaked in 1925, when the company had Olmsted sketch out a possible extension of the de­velopment all the way west to the Foster Bridge on Maple Road.

In Febru­ary 1927, Ferris Smith, who had replaced Gibbs as the Olmsted representative, visit­ed the Dows and reported, "Met Mrs.

Helen Underdown built a smaller house on Juniper Lane after William was killed in a car crash in 1930.

In 1941 Doctor Howard and Cecilia Ross built a multipillared house that neighbors sarcastically dubbed "Tara," after the man­sion in Gone With the Wind.

So in 1944 the company essentially gave the property to the residents. "They contacted the people who lived here and wanted them to take it over," recalls Walter Esch, the village's maintenance superintendent.

According to the 2000 census, Bar­ton Hills' median household income was $149,000, more than triple Ann Arbor's $46,000.

After the 90-day push to start the season, Barton Hills reached the midpoint of the summer (July 1) with 32 new members -- a significant increase from 2018.

© 2021 Omni Hotels & Resorts