Johnsburg trustees approve purchase of Chapel Hill Golf Course

By Gregory Harutunian For Chronicle Media

The Schmitt Chapel, originally built in the 1840s, is attached to the 100-acre Chapel Hill Golf Course, and now owned by the Village of Johnsburg. (Photo by Gregory Harutunian/for Chonicle Media)

The agreement for the Village of Johnsburg to purchase Chapel Hill Golf Course for $1.1 million was finalized Nov. 8.

The Johnsburg Village Board had unanimously approved an action to purchase the Chapel Hill Golf Course during it’s Sept. 5 session, ending any further border disputes with the city of McHenry, and a once financially troubled ownership.

Funding for repayment of the contract outlay will come from the revenues generated at the facility. The Mundelein-based firm of Golfvisions Management, Inc. is currently overseeing day-to-day business at the course, while the village is actively negotiating for a management company to coordinate its operations going forward.

The unincorporated parcel of 100 acres will be annexed into the municipal boundaries not only preserving an open space, but providing a measure of future security for the Schmitt Chapel, built in the 1840s.

“The community has responded favorably to the village’s purchase of the course, and we are pleased that we are able to preserve this important recreational open space,” said Johnsburg Village Administrator Claudett Peters.

Village public works crews are slated to begin cleanup on the property to remove debris and downed trees, and the McHenry Township Fire Protection District has plans for a controlled burn of the clubhouse structure as a training exercise in the near future.

The golf course has had a troubled history, when known as the Chapel Hill Country Club and its finances forced a receivership and closure. A border dispute between McHenry and Johnsburg also brought a spotlight on the unincorporated property in 1998. With the Fox River acting as a natural boundary to eastward McHenry expansion, the city postured to block Johnsburg from developing nearly 2,000 acres nearby. Prospects of both commercial and residential development were being sought by both communities.

The interior of the Schmitt Chapel has remained basically unchanged since its 1840s construction. (Photo by Gregory Harutunian/for Chonicle Media)

The mutual redistricting of boundaries resulted in McHenry permitting Johnsburg to enter their federal planning area with sanitary service lines to the properties along Route 31, while the golf course parcel would be under McHenry jurisdiction. However, the parcel’s designation has remained part of unincorporated McHenry County.

“The village began contemplating the possible acquisition of the golf course, when we first heard that the property was on the market,” said Johnsburg Village President Ed Hettermann. “Formal negotiations began over the past summer. Private Properties LLC was the owner of record, which we understand is a limited liability company, owned by Chicago-based MB Bank.  With regards to the ongoing maintenance of the chapel, we will work in concert with the families that have been taking care of it over the years, to ensure that it is cared for.” 

The Chapel Hill golf course sits directly behind the Schmitt Chapel, located at 2500 N. Chapel Hill Road, in a niche carved out of the 100-acre parcel. The golf course was the originally the Frederick Schmitt farm, the site where he and his family arrived in 1843. The story attributed to the chapel’s legend was that Schmitt, and his family, were traveling to America by ship, when a violent storm arose. Schmitt prayed to the Virgin Mary for safe passage, and in return, he would build a chapel in her honor.

The group arrived safely, and true to his word, a log cabin chapel was erected. It was replaced by a stone building one decade later, and its interior remains authentic in appearance to the period of its construction. Similarities exist between its design, and the appearance of the Miller Chapel, at the north end of the village. Both contain hand-crafted wooden altars, as well as plastered ceilings and walls.

The two chapels are historic legacies for the village, as is the former town name of “Sunnyside,” that was melded into the Johnsburg incorporations. The Schmitt chapel had also faced an uncertain future, still lacking a historical landmark status, according to the McHenry County Department of Planning and Zoning. Legally attached to the golf course property, it is now owned by the village outright.

“The village’s goal is to provide a golf course facility that is well-maintained, yet affordable for our residents,” said Hettermann. “It also protects an important recreational, open space which serves our community.”

 

Chapel Hill Golf Course now in Johnsburg fold–