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Park Board. For the above reasons, it is my recommendation that the HPC does not decide in favor of designating the Studebaker Golf Course as a Local Historic Landmark at this time. Historic Context: South Bend's First Municinal Golf Course The game of golf came somewhat late to northern Indiana. The American version of the sport began in the late 1880's on the east coast, transplanted by enthusiasts who first learned it in Scotland. Local interest in the game grew around the turn of the century spurring the formation of the area's first Golf Club- -the So- Mi -E1 -Go Club, named for South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart and Goshen. This four -city golf combine erected a nine -hole course along the St. Joseph - Elkhart County lines. Called the Country Club of St. Joseph Valley, it was the sixth golf club in the state of Indiana.[3] The second local golf links were erected in 1907 at the Sunnyside Club at East Jefferson and Greenlawn Avenue, followed in 1915 by the Chain O' Lakes Club west of the city of South Bend. Soon thereafter, in response to the growing popularity of the sport, the South Bend Park Board decided to provide an inexpensive course for residents unable to afford club dues and green fees. Their plan entailed upgrading Henry Studebaker Park on Ewing Avenue and having a course built there. Plans for the municipal course were underway as early as 1915. It is possible that the city hired the nationally- renowned landscape architect, George E. Kessler, to design the course. Kessler had been on retainer by the city since 1906 and had prepared plans for several boulevards and parks in the city. Park Board records reveal that he provided the city with a blueprint for the course; whether his plan was the final version chosen is unknown.[4] The land on which the course was erected had been platted as Henry Studebaker Park in January of 1904 on land originally belonging to its namesake. Henry Studebaker was the eldest of the famous brothers who came to South Bend in 1852 with their father and began the blacksmith business that later became the Studebaker Corporation. He was involved with the business until 1857 when he retired for reasons of ill health. Studebaker then bought eighty acres of land on Bowman Creek for a farm a year later. He soon built a house on what is now the golf course.[5] Henry Studebaker died in 1895. Priscilla, his second wife, evidently remained on the family farm for some time. It was she and Henry's other heirs (he had nine children) that leased the land to the city for use as the original park. In 1912, the family also began leasing this portion of land, south of the - 3