In 1911, after searching for a perfect spot along the Minnesota River Bluffs, The Automobile Club of Minneapolis built their clubhouse on a scenic patch above the valley. Designed by local architect, Frederick Kees, the building contained garage stalls, a restaurant and dormitories so members could stay the night. The wonderful country club, offered members a lovely place to dance, dine and take in the sights.
The clubhouse became a famous destination. After the first building burned in 1918, rumors spread that the blaze was set by a caretaker whose sympathies lay with the Germans during the war. The clubhouse was rebuilt in 1920 and remained a fixture in the area, hosting dinners and dancing, weddings and high school proms. A few years into the Roaring 1920’s, the game golf grew a following in Minnesota and Auto Club members began looking to a farm that lay across Old Bluff Road from their clubhouse as the perfect location for a new course.
In 1922, they acquired 160 acres and went to work. The barn became a locker room and a verandah was built nearby. They named the course the Bloomington Golf Club and put up a sign on the side of the road that said “ privileges extended to members of American Automobile Association”.
A famous golf course architect, Seth Raynor laid out the club’s 18 holes. Raynor’s hired a Former University of Minnesota professor by the name of Ralph Barton, to help him build his Scottish inspired his courses. Ivar Daly and his son John Daly worked with other local crews to contour the course with a horse and scraper. Barrow’s Grass Nursery, on the Minnesota River, planted greens with plugs of bentgrass. A water pipe system was was installed in the fall of 1924 and the course opened the following year.
In April of 1925 members turned out for a course warming party and he Bloomington Golf Club opened for play a month later. First year members were given ten free rounds a year after that rounds could be had for fifty cents a game. The course was members only on weekends, but the public could play during the week. Dancing and dining and good times were just across road at the clubhouse. That same year approximately 25,000 meals were served at the Automobile Country Clubhouse. at It was the biggest season the club had ever enjoyed. All the more impressive when you consider that it was only open from May to November. The manager, W.A. Shaw was credited with the success. The clubhouse expanded in 1928. In order to enlarge the ballroom, the building was split and pulled apart before building to fill the span.
In 1938, seven stockholders purchased the golf course and buildings for $38,000. They rebranded as the Minnesota Valley Country Club Golf Course. In 1952, a major three-story addition was attached to the old barn locker room. On the other side of Old Bluff Road, the Auto Clubhouse was sold to developers in 1958 and demolished the following year. Now the area filled with homes.