The man who built Spring Valley Golf Course was Vernon Roland. He lived here on the land when he was a boy during the Great Depression with his family who were Third Generation Texans. Their family had settled the land and farmed it as share croppers with the owner, Dad's uncle. He walked to school down Gosling Rd. when it was just a wagon trail. He was classmates with the Klein, Wunsche, Hildebrandt, and Carraway children.
Later, he joined the Army, and served our country during WWII in the 82nd Infantry Division, Railsplitters, Army Corp of Engineers. They built roads and bridges in Europe to help the Allied Forces.
Upon his return, he opened a grocery store in Oklahoma Community, Texas where he met his beloved wife of 55 years, Doris Goodson. They raised a family of six children together. He later worked as a dry cleaner at the Shamrock Hilton Hotel and decided he needed to once again open his own business. So, he and his family successfully ran Roland Cleaners in Houston for 30 years.
Upon his retirement he was forturnate enough to be able to purchase the land that he loved so much and where he spent his boyhood. He knew every tree, curve of the creek and rise of the land. He ran a one-man sawmill and sold the lumber, later he sold the sand that became forms for many of the new homes in the area. Once he took up playing golf with his oldest son, he knew just what he needed to do next: open a nine hole golf course there.
After several years of hard work the course was opened in 1993. It was an instant hit. His wife, Doris was right there with him and helped him every step of the way. They enjoyed the last years of their lives playing golf with their friends. They were very pleased with the fact that they had created a place where the public could come and enjoy the tranquil beauty of the nature and wildlife on Spring Creek.
They're both gone now, and the course is owned and operated by the O'Briens with the same devotion to service, loyalty to friends, and love of this wonderful piece of Texas heritage.