Elmwood Country Club has been a Marshalltown tradition since 1896 when the original "Marshalltown Country Club" was founded. The club was located east of town on 64 acres adjacent to the Iowa River. Included were a clubhouse (cost $2,150), nine hole golf course, tennis courts and croquet courts. Transportation to the club was at first by horse and buggy. A bus service was later established from the corner of Third Avenue and Main Street.
An 80-acre tract of timbered land was purchased at the present site of the club in 1919. Mrs. Sandoe sol the land for $250 per acre. She called the area "Elmwood" and offered to contribute the 2 1/2 acres where her log cabin stood (just above the 9th green) if the club would adopt that name. This was agreed and Elmwood Country Club came into being.
The golf course was completed in June 1919. The clubhouse was finished two months later. Life memberships were sold at $500 each. Seventeen were sold in the first year, 91 by 1921.
A fire destroyed the original Elmwood Clubhouse on October 24, 1929. A new clubhouse was completed in 1931 at a cost of $55,000. A $200,000 addition and remodeling was authorized in 1966 and completed in 1967.
A number of additions have been made to the club over the years but a few of the key updates include the following:
The swimming pool was constructed in 1953 at a cost of $32,000. In 1961, a 40.7 acre tract of land was purchased to allow expansion of the golf course to 18 holes. This expansion was completed in 1967. Two tennis courts were built in 1970.
Recently private donations allowed for the remodeling of the clubhouse and replacement of the golf course bathroom facilities.
Elmwood Country Club continues its more than nine decades of involvement in the social and recreational life of the Marshalltown Community. It is a long history of which every Elmwood member can be proud.