The oldest structure in our community (hidden at the south end of Arboretum Drive) was originally the country estate of an executive of Inland Steel Corp.  Built in the 1920s-30s as a hunting lodge and posh guest house away from the city, its surrounding land was essentially undisturbed for half a century. During that same building boom, Chicago's Branigar brothers expanded the (Chicago-born) concept of private land development into many new communities surrounding the city.

When their real estate empire revived in the post-war boom years, plans and land parcels began to be assembled for The Windings to be privately developed as a planned-unit community.  The Branigar Organization, had by then become a subsidiary of  Union Camp.  Initial construction phases began in the late 1960s with the infrastructure, clubhouse and pool.  Custom home building has continued to the present, diminishing to where just a handful of lots remain unimproved.
 

Entrance to Bike Trail
 

Laid out to exploit the gentle contours of wooded hillside terrain, the name "Windings" refers to both the community's street plan and the meandering course of Ferson Creek through our common grounds.

By interlocking twisting streets and generous common greenways, this design achieves the right balance of privacy and community for Midwestern homeowners.  The main thoroughfare "Jens Jensen Lane" was named after Chicago's famous Danish landscape designer.  Although Jensen didn't design The Windings subdivision, his influence is evident in its landscape design, and its native plantings.

A little information on Jens Jensen

Jens Jensen designed landscapes for the Henry Ford Motor Company and Ford family private estates. These designs served as a model for "The Windings of Ferson Creek".   Jensen tailored his designs to preserve the rich mosaic of existing woodland, savanna, conifer, swamp , and open farmland, while providing a private rustic retreat for the Ford family.

Sledding Hill