Although the seeds for Lakeside Country Club were cast on June 27, 1916 it wasn't until 1923 that they blossomed into Lakeside Country Club. An association was formed with trustees appointed to purchase real estate "to establish a country club to encourage outdoor sports and athletics". The Association established 50 shares, with 40 shares already sold at $250.00 each. Armed with a treasury, the unincorporated association purchased the property from Edgar and Ida Haefer for $16,000.00.

In 1928 a youth swim team was established. Lakeside Junior Golf flourished under Pro Matt Melville in 1943 and is still going strong. Lakeside's women golfers registered with LCC Pro Harry Nelson for the 1958 Women's City Golf Tournament. With a surplus in the treasury of the LCC Women's Golf Assoc. it was decided in 1959 that there would be a day reserved for women only. It was named Doe Day. It was the first such event in Bloomington. Other area country clubs have followed the practice. 

Did you ever wonder when the "Best Position" Golf Tournament started in Bloomington.-Normal? Well it started at Lakeside in 1962. Ed Weaver had breakfast with a man from St. Louis who talked about a new tournament at his club. All the members would hit their drives, but they would all go to the "best position" drive before hitting their 2nd shot. Ed suggested this format for our 4th of July Tournament, and it was adopted. The first year it was only 2 man teams, the second year we went to 4 man teams and the rest is history! This tournament soon spread to the other clubs, as well as throughout the country.

A new club house was built in 1972. For the first time since its existence the membership class was expanded in 1980 to include social memberships.

The year of 1991 was a year of big changes. Thanks to the foresight of Don Lettner and Frank Niepagen the club added a pool and the families came. And those families brought other families. We hope you and your family will consider joining Lakeside, and help to enrich our history even more!