An historic but structurally unsound Galesburg clubhouse is being demolished to make room for a smaller yet more modern facility.
Demolition started Wednesday at Soangetaha Country Club, marking the end of an era for a clubhouse that has played host to numerous events for more than a century.
By Wednesday evening, the front of the clubhouse appeared untouched, but a large portion of the rear of the building had been demolished.
Pete Kehoe, Soangetaha Country Club president, tells WGIL he expects the demolition process to take “probably a week and a half.”
Construction on a new 6,800 square foot facility will be begin after demolition of the current clubhouse is finished. A new clubhouse is projected open for members by May 2025.
According to Kehoe, a majority of members believed a complete rebuild made more sense financially than a remodel of the 15,400 square feet building.
“There was a significant number of members who had a lot of passion for the history, the ambiance and the grandeur of the big old clubhouse,” Kehoe said on a recent episode of of WGIL’s Galesburg In Focus.
“We actually made a decision to (remodel) the clubhouse, but fortunately we had some folks who were able to get in the belly of it, and we realized to structurally bring it back to life financially just did not make sense.
“At that point, we made the decision that a new clubhouse made a lot more sense for really, the future of Galesburg and the members of Soangetaha going forward.”
The new clubhouse will be all on one level and be handicap accessible. It will include a private dining room that will accommodate 40 people, and a larger lounge/dining room that will seat around 130 people. There also will be two covered patio areas facing the 18th green of the golf course, and a deck overlooking the swimming pool.
Soangetaha Country Club was officially chartered on July 19, 1895, making it the second oldest country club in Illinois after the Chicago Golf Club.
