Hiawatha Golf Course added to the National Register of Historic Places
Hiawatha Golf Course was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Thursday, which is curated by the National Park Service.
The golf course’s nomination for the registry was commissioned by Minneapolis-based Bronze Foundation and undertaken by historical consulting firm Hess Roise, and Company, according to a news release by The Cultural Landscape Foundation.
TCLF first stated that it believed Hiawatha Golf Course to be eligible for the National Register back in March 2022. The foundation designated the golf course a “Landslide nationally significant cultural landscape” following proposed plans that threatened to reduce the course to only nine holes.
The golf course also has historical meaning for the Black community.
As previously reported, Soloman Hughes, one of the best Black golfers in the nation at the time, lived in Minneapolis and played at the golf course in the 1940s. While he and other Black people golfed on the course, they were not allowed to use the clubhouse. After pressure from Hughes and other Black golfers, the course changed its policy. The clubhouse is now named after Hughes.
“The National Register designation of the Hiawatha Golf Course, an action we first called for on March 1, 2022, reaffirms the cultural and historic significance of the site,” said TCLF President & CEO, Charles A. Birnbaum in a statement. “The designation, which reminds us that African American history is American history, includes important information about Hiawatha that we believe is essential to any decision-making process about the course’s future. Moreover, it informs the conversation about Hiawatha’s future stewardship by providing a deeper understanding of its unique cultural value while also placing it within a greater regional and national historical context.”
TCLF works to broaden support and understanding for cultural landscapes, according to its website.