Welcome to the Bowen Country Club Website

We're mighty glad you're here!

"The Concept of Bowen Country Club was, from its beginning, very different from the "fresh air camps" typical of the time. It was based on the idea of a beautiful place where people of many ages, races, religions and ethnic origins could live, work, sing, dance, eat and play together in joy and harmony as part of one family- the BCC Family. Experiencing this opened the eyes and the hearts of many people to a new understanding and appreciation of how each of us could help make the world a better place for all."

- Margaret Carlton Misiak (Mac) BCC 1948-1953

The Joseph T. Bowen Country Club was opened in 1912 as a summer camp for children and their families from Chicago's crowded Near West Side neighborhood. The camp, located in Waukegan IL, was owned and operated by Hull-House, the Chicago settlement house founded by Jane Addams. The Bowen Country Club provided a summer outing to Chicago's children until 1962 when the property was sold to the Waukegan Park District.

This website has been designed by the Bowen Country Club Committee, a group of former campers and counselors of the Bowen Country Club. In this site, we invite you to reminisce with us about this remarkable institution.