 In 1923, Knollwood Farm was purchased by a group of wealthy Chicago businessmen (including Samuel Insull, Robert P. Lamont, Nathan William MacChesney and Thomas E. Wilson), who wished to turn the land into a country club.The following year, the Knollwood Country Club was founded, and the purchase was finalized in 1925.The community that sprang up around the club came to be known as Knollwood.