The area that makes up the Village today was once farmland worked by immigrant families during the 1830s. The Illinois Central Railroad began serving the area in the 1850s, making the transport of farm goods to the City of Chicago and its growing population much easier. In 1893 the Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago, and the south Cook County region became an increasingly popular retreat for b
usy Chicagoans. By 1913, the area’s lush woodlands and rolling terrain convinced an investment group led by Charles Beach, that the area was the perfect place to establish a golf course catering to Chicago’s wealthy elite. Beach and his friend James Gardner developed a magnificent 72-hole golf course and country club. The Club was chartered in 1915 as Olympia Fields Country Club. Amos Alonzo Stagg, the famed football coach of the University of Chicago, became the Club’s first president. The name ''Olympia'' was proposed by Stagg. The word ''Fields'' was added because it aptly described the young community's pastoral terrain. Golf and the resort atmosphere in the area south of Chicago became so popular that some families lived in canvas-covered ''cottages'' during the summer months, while others built more permanent homes on the western side of the train tracks beginning as early as 1919. The clubhouse, built in 1924, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The golf course is considered one of the finest in the nation. It was home to the 1928 and 2003 U.S. Open, the Senior U.S. Open, and the Western Open on five occasions. The Country Club's founder, Charles Beach, organized the effort to incorporate the residential areas around the Country Club as a municipality, and in 1927, the Village of Olympia Fields was created with Beach as its first president. His home, built to reflect the design and character of the Country Club, still stands at the southwest corner of Kedzie Avenue and 203rd Street. Today, the grounds of the Country Club remain unincorporated, outside the jurisdiction of the Village government. As our Village grew, street names of early subdivisions followed a Greek theme: Athens, Hellenic, Parthenon, Corinth and Sparta. The Village logo depicts Hermes, the Greek
God of science. In later years, Olympia Fields grew into a prosperous, upper-middle class community
that has retained its quiet, stately ambiance. The Village’s population remained small until after World War II, when the Club sold two golf courses for residential development. The Village’s roots and traditions as an elite and affluent community remain, while a new tradition of racial, ethnic and religious diversity now enhances the quality of life enjoyed by residents. As an exclusive community, all are welcomed and expected to contribute to the life of the Village.
