Dartmouth’s City View Golfland Was Low-Tech Family Fun
City View Golfland was a fixture on Faunce Corner Road in Dartmouth for most of my life. By the time City View disappeared, it's likely few people even noticed it was gone.
It wasn't high-tech enough to impress modern generations in search of more stimulating entertainment.
City View Golfland consisted of a miniature golf course, Pitch & Putt, and a driving range, and was constructed on a former dairy farm at 581 Faunce Corner Road.
According to town documents, the Turner and Caswell families occupied the land for most of the 1800s.
In 1903, a Polish immigrant named Jacob Tomkiewicz purchased the property and farmed it until his retirement in the 1950s. Jacob's son Walter and his grandson, Walter, Jr., maintained the farm into the 1960s and operated the City View Creamery across the road.
But Walter, Jr. gave up farming and taught science and math in the Dartmouth school system instead.
The miniature golf course opened in August 1963, and the Pitch & Putt the following July, according to a 2008 piece by Curt Brown for the Standard-Times.
By 2008, it seems Walter Tomkiewicz, Jr. may have become ill and was considering the future of City View Golfland. He died the following year at 70 years old.
In July 2011, the Town of Dartmouth completed an assessment of the property where Southcoast Behavioral Health now stands.
I recall playing miniature golf at City View Golfland with my father and brother. I took my children there. I always chose the green and white ball.
Whenever I pass by the property, I remember the wooden paddle wheel, the windmill that stood between me and the hole, and the little white card and pencil we used to keep track of the score.
Great memories that last a lifetime – even if few others remember.