Joe McGlamery, President of the Bulloch County Historical Society (BCHS) and Virginia Anne Franklin Waters, Director of the BCHS, presented Country Clubs of Bulloch County as the monthly meeting of the BCHS on Monday, August 22, 2022.
The program was actually written by Paul G. Franklin, Jr. in 1966. Mr. Franklin was Virginia Anne's dad. Mr. Franklin was instrumental in the founding of Forest Heights Country Club. Forest heights, founded in 1946 and opened in 1947 is the longest serving country club in Bulloch County.
After returning from WWII, men returning from war wanted to establish a club that families could enjoy and have fun. First cousins, Paul G. Franklin, Jr. and Robert M. Benson, purchased the 600 acre tract of land which became Forest Heights Country Club.
The land was formally Bulloch's pauper farm, which was established in 1889.
You can watch the full program below:
Early Country Clubs in Bulloch
Lakeview Country Club
The first country club was the Lakeview Country Club established in 1925. It was located on Lakeview Road north of Rigdon Cemetery. It was a summertime venture and provided a place for swimming, dancing, parties and finally fishing. The damn to the pond broke in 1928 and the club closed.
South Georgia Teachers College Golf Club
South Georgia Teachers College Golf Club was the second country club. It was established in 1932 by Guy Wells who was president of the College at the time.
They built a short, nine hole golf course on campus, where Marvin Pittman School was constructed in 1938. With Marvin Pittman being constructed on the site of the golf course, that ended this club.
Pine Crest Golf Club
The third club was Pine Crest Golf Club which began in 1931 across from Eastside Cemetery, where Cone Homes is located today. They constructed a nine hole golf course on the property with handshake agreements. This lasted about a year, until property owners started selling the land which comprised the golf course.
Statesboro Golf Club
Statesboro Golf Club, the fourth club, was established in 1939 on U.S. 301 North at Mill Creek. This course was part of an agreement with the Workers Progress Association (WPA), which was going to contribute 75% of the construction of the club and course. Unfortunately, WWII stopped this project.
Forest Heights Country Club
As written earlier in this story, Forest Heights was established after returning from WWII, men returning from war wanted to establish a club that families could enjoy and have fun.
Forest Heights Country Club continues to serve families in our community. It is located at 3772 Country Club Road.
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