Indian Hill is a posh Winnetka golf course community bounded by Ridge Rd. on the east, Locust Rd. on the west and Hill Rd. on the north. It was developed in the 1920’s and named Indian Hill because the club stands on the site of an old Potawatomi Village. In fact, the tenth tee is the high point on the grounds and once used as the look-out point.
87 acres of land for the club was acquired in 1916 from the Alles family, who were early settlers to the area from Germany. (The family sold their remaining land in 1936 for the building of Saints Faith, Hope and Charity Church on the other side of Hill Rd). The Club was designed by architect Donald Ross and built in 1920.
The Indian Hill Club anchors the community and many of the homes front the golf course, though residence in the community does not guarantee you membership in the club. You have to be put up for and approved for membership, then make your way to the top of the waiting list before gaining entrance to the club.
An interesting factoid about the club is that actor Bill Murray and his brothers (who grew up in Wilmette) caddied here as teenagers to help pay their way through school at Loyola Academy. The movie “Caddyshack” was written by Murray’s brother, Brian Doyle-Murray and was supposedly based on (or at least inspired by) his experiences caddying at Indian Hill.
Most of the homes in the community were built in the 1920’s and 1930’s, with some later additions in the 1950’s. During the real estate boom some original houses were torn down to make way for new construction. All of the homes in Indian Hill are large, with four to six bedrooms and lush, beautifully landscaped lots. Most are traditional in style (Tudor, Colonial, etc.), though there a few contemporary houses. The homes typically sell for between $2,000,000 and $4,000,000, though as the market has weakened, a few of the more “modest” homes have been sold for as little as $1.200,000.
A couple of years ago I counted eight homes for sale as my dogs and I walked the circuit around Indian Hill. Today there are only two homes on the market:
Comments(0)