An eight-and-a-half acre lake at the Timberlake Club on Farmington Road is open for swimming to club members and guests after a recent dredging project removed eight loads of “muck” from the bottom. Club manager Kim Slover calls the club the “best-kept secret in Peoria.” (Photo courtesy Timberlake Club)

Renovations will also make Timberlake Club destination for future generations

A little-known slice of paradise that’s been in Peoria for more than 60 years has undergone renovations recently to make it even better for generations to come.

“The thing I like best about the Timberlake Club is we have so much to offer and you feel like you’re in another world, and yet we’re right here in Peoria,” said Kim Slover, who’s managed the club at 5501 S. Farmington Road for about 20 years.

The private club features swimming, fishing, golfing and camping and currently has about 115 members with plenty of room for more, Slover said.  Recent renovations have included upgrading the clubhouse and rehabbing an eight-and-a-half acre lake for swimming.

“We just dredged the lake in May,” Slover said. “We took out eight tandem loads of muck, as we call it, and put down fresh sand. We’re trying to put the lake back into Timberlake.”

Two brothers, Dave and Bill Gibbons, first created the recreation area in 1954 after they returned home from a stint in the military. It was their dream to build a swimming club, Slover said.

“Their mother ended up buying land from a Norwood farmer,” she added. “They dredged out the land and created the lake. They had to move something like 40,000 yards of dirt to create the lake. There was a natural spring, so it’s spring-fed.”

Superior Seawalls and Docks from Illinois City dredged the swimming lake at the Timberlake Club on Farmington Road in May. The private club offers swimming, golfing, fishing and camping and is open to new members. (Photo courtesy Timberlake Club)

The lake was a popular place to swim in the early years, with the club boasting more than 300 members at one time.

“You’d have to come out and put your blanket on the beach at 6 or 6:30 in the morning to get a spot. It was that crowded out here,” Slover said.

The brothers eventually sold Timberlake to some club members, and Timberlake Properties was created.

In 1974 Timberlake Properties began leasing the land to the Timberlake Club. Over the years, the club added a challenging 9-hole golf course and a camping area that currently offers 56 spots. A smaller fishing lake is stocked each year with catfish, blue gill, crappie bass and more.

While golf, camping and fishing have always been popular at the club, interest in swimming seemed to decline over the past 20 years or so, Slover said.

“Kids just didn’t swim in lakes as much as they used to,” she noted. “We have a lot of trees around here that drop leaves into the lake every year. We try to get the leaves up and burn them out, but a lot of them go into the lake, so that’s what caused the muck that was on the bottom.”

Interest in the lake has increased in recent years, however, prompting the club to do some fundraising to have the lake dredged by Superior Seawalls and Docks from Illinois City.

“We have a whole new generation of young kids now that don’t mind swimming in the lake because their parents are the ones who swam in the lake back when they were kids,” Slover said.

Tina Clausen, who’s been going to the club for about eight years with her father and stepmother, said, “It’s a home away from home, and the best spot to get away. The lake they have to swim in is awesome for the kids and feels like we’re on a beach.”

A Memorial Day beach party to open the swimming season attracted about 50 people to the lake. “It was open to members and their guests, and it was amazing to see so many people here,” Slover said.

“In 62 years, we’ve been down and out several times, but the membership and volunteerism have kept us going,” she added. Clubhouse rentals for weddings, reunions and family parties, with catering available by the club’s chef, also help with the bottom line.

“We have an upstairs room that holds up to 250 people. We renovated the inside of the clubhouse in February, so it’s pretty much brand new now. It’s gorgeous. That was all done through fundraising and volunteerism, as well.”

Slover said the club’s nine-member governing board is working to revitalize the club and let people know it exists.

“Once you’re a member and you start becoming involved and enjoy the club, it becomes a way of life. That’s why we don’t mind putting in that extra work to help raise funds for anything we have out here or volunteering to do the work versus hiring it out,” she said.

Fundraising efforts to pay for the renovations, which Slover said totaled just under $10,000, have included indoor beach parties during the winter and special dinners.

The club holds weekly dinners for members and their guests and invites the public to an all-you-can eat chicken fry the second Friday of each month and a fish fry the fourth Friday of each month.

“Those are all cooked and served by our members as a fundraising-type thing they started a long time ago,” Slover said. “It’s just a tradition we do, and it’s also a way to invite the public in to see what our club is like.”

Timberlake Club also opens its golf course to the public on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“We’re a 9-hole golf course with a back tee, so you can play 18,” Slover said. “It’s $20 to play 9 and $25 for 18, including cart.”

Club membership runs $185 a month for a family or $136.50 a month for a single. A junior rate for those 40 and younger is $106 for a family and $83 for a single. Slover said the governing board has considered adding a separate swimming membership if there’s enough interest.

“I definitely think we’re the best-kept secret in Peoria,” Slover said. “I’ve heard people say they had no clue we’re here, and they only live two blocks away.”

For more information, visit the Timberlake Club’s Facebook page or call (309) 674-2171.