The Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center -- Storyboard Archives: August 2013

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Lost Trotting Parks on Facebook

If you love harness racing, horses, agricultural fairs, and people who work hard, check out the Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center's Facebook Page. Photo Albums from Topsham Fair, Skowhegan Fair, Union Fair and Windsor Fair!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Dedication of the Arthur Kennedy Race Track, Union Fairgrounds, Union, Maine

Saturday, August 17, 2013

August 1887 -- Trotting in Norridgewock and West Camden & More

Maine's Agricultural Fair Harness Racing Moves to Union -- North Knox County Fair 1877

Please open the following page with a new tab or in a new window so that you can enlarge the image.

Selected Committee Member and Trustees
of the North Knox Agricultural and Horticultural Society -- 1877

Horse Committee

Augustus Vaughan, Union

J.F. Bryant, Washington

E.A. Payson, Hope

Charles Burkett, Appleton

E.C. Andrews, Warren

Carriage and Harness Committee

Williston Grinnell, Washington,

Cyrus Dunbar, Hope

H.N. Titus, Appleton

James Dunbar, Washington

O.A. Burkett, Union

Athletic Sports

John A. Gleason, Union

George Danforth, Washington

H.H. Payson, Hope

M.R. Simmons, Appleton

Leander Robinson, Warren

Trustees

N.K. Burkett

A.D. Wiley

H. McCurdy

A.M. Crabtree

Samuel Thomas

Treasurer, Silas Hawes

Nathaniel Alford, President

William Gleason, Secretary

Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Pedigree of Winthrop Messenger -- Discussed in The Maine Horse Breeders' Monthly -- 1887

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Nelson 4209 at Mystic Park -- Maine Agricultural Fairs -- Trotting Results for 1887

Check out the harness racing results at Maine's Agricultural Fairs in 1887
The Franklin County Fair

The West Oxford Fair in Fryeburg
Trotting at Skowhegan
Trotting at Norridgewock

Trotting at Monroe

Trotting at Belfast
Kennebec County Fair, Readfield
Trotting at the Oxford Fairgrounds
Trotting at Unity

Trotting at Brookside Park, Albion
Trotting at West Cumberland
Trotting at Cornish

Trotting at Exeter

Check out the Performances of Aubine and Nelson at Mystic Park, Bedford, Massachusetts!

Monday, August 12, 2013

19th Century Transportation -- Central Maine Railroad and Steamboat Schedule

In the 19th century transportation was by foot, by horse, by rail, and by water. Horsemen who competed throughout Maine, New Brunswick and across the United States would travel by rail and by water. Nelson took his champion stallion Nelson 4209 to St. John, New Brunswick perhaps by water or by train. When Nelson and his horse were banned from National Trotting Association tracks, Nelson took his horse west. This travel was done by rail. Nelson rented or owned a horse car that he used for travel by train. It is said that he would sleep in the same car with his horse. Nelson 4209's final exhibition was in Eastport, Maine at McFaul Park.

When harness racing meets were held at McFaul Park, folks from Calais would take the steamboat up to Eastport for the races and then return.

When steamboats would land at port, stage coaches would be at hand to take passenger inland to their final destinations.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Mission of Lost Trotting Parks

The mission of the Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center is to preserve the stories and images of the 19th century to present day that illustrate the history of Maine's harness racing, lost trotting parks, fairs, agricultural societies, Granges, and the significance of the of the horse in society.

Our plan is to reach our mission is through Preservation, Education, Promotion and Partnerships.

Through the Center's website and educational outreach to Maine school students, community organizations, agricultural fairs, and businesses, the Center will retell the once told stories of a slice of Maine history that is quickly being forgotten. Most Mainers have lost their connection to the horse and the horse's contribution to a past way of life. Maine people who work in the harness racing industry are today's living history of the age when the horse was king. Through your financial support of the Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center, you will help to tell the stories of Maine Harness Racing and horse breeding throughout the ages.

FOR BETTER VIEWING

Lost Trotting Parks storyboards are typically 12 by 18 inches. To view storyboards, click on the storyboard and it will automatically open as a larger image. If there are multiple storyboards in a post, click on the first image. This will create a slideshow that you control by clicking on the next image icon that you will see at the bottom of your screen.

If the storyboards are still too small to view text, open individual storyboards in a separate window. This allows you to enlarge the storyboards to read text and view images in greater detail. To open a storyboard in a new window, place your cursor over the image, right click on your mouse, and select open in a new window. This will allow you to use Ctrl + and Ctrl - to control the size of the storyboard. When you are finished viewing the storyboard, close the window and you will return to the LTP blog.

Trotting Horse Art Detectives

In the 1891, Colorado artist, C.B. Fish, produced an oil painting of the famous trotting stallion Nelson. The Lewiston Sun Journal reported that Fish had completed the painting and would ship it to Sunnyside Farm. Fish also painted a trotter from Skowhegan named All-So. We do not know if the painting of Nelson still exists. The two paintings below are examples of Fish's work. If you have knowledge of the oil painting of Nelson, please e-mail Stephen Thompson at lifework50@gmail.com or call 207-623-3076.

The Fish pictures were made available by Gallery 44.

To inquire about the Fish paintings contact:

http://www.gallery44llc.com

Maine's Trotting Horse Heritage Trail

Published in 2009, Maine’s Trotting Horse Heritage Trail, guides readers through the golden age of the trotting horse. Covering the period between 1820 and 1892, the author, Clark P. Thompson of Bangor, Maine, introduces us to the horses, the people, and places that established the trotting industry in the State of Maine. Thompson’s well researched publication highlights twenty key moments in Maine’s evolvement in trotting. The Heritage Trail begins in Old Orchard Beach and ends in Dover-Foxcroft. This book is your guide to historical markers that have been inscribed and placed in designated Maine communities.

Journey with us and return to the Golden Age of Trotting.

In the book’s foreword, Michael, D. Andrew, President of the Maine Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association, states, “With this book, Clark Thompson has done us a great service by memorializing some of the great progenitors of the Maine trotter, the owners who supported breeding and racing, and the tracks where these horses pleased thousands of Mainers in the 1800s.”

For more information about this book and how to obtain a copy, contact Clark P. Thompson by e-mailing

clarkprice@msn.com.

Maine's Lost Trotting Parks --- OUR MISSION

The trotting industry flourished from the 1820s through the early 1900s. There are a number of reasons that for many the excitement and interest in trotting has diminished. However, the trotting industry still exists. Its history is still rich. Our mission is to conduct research that will reveal to us the history of Maine's forgotten Trotting Tracks and bring back the images and people of another age. Our posts of the Belfast Trotting Track are examples of what we are attempting to find. We will partner with local historical societies, work with local government, and individuals interested in this endeavor. Contact us and help us to fulfill our mission.

NOTE: News articles and other text displayed on this web site are existing texts given to me for use on The Lost Trotting Parks Blog. There has been no additional research on my part to ensure that these accounts are accurate.

Stephen D. Thompson

P.O. Box 263

Hallowell, Maine 04347

E-Mail: lifework50@gmail.com

Cell Phone: 207-623-3076

Nelson Memorabilia

Nelson, the champion trotter, was owned by C.H. Nelson of Waterville, Maine. C.H. (Hod) Nelson owned and operated Sunnyside Horse Farm. The farm's location is where the JFK Mall is now located. At one time, Nelson owned the fairgrounds of the North Kennebec Agricultural and Horticultural Society. We are seeking individuals or organizations that may have Nelson memorabilia, photographs, equipment, and trophies. In addition, we are looking for photographs of the fairgrounds and trotting track that was once located behind the Pine Grove Cemetery. If you have information regarding Nelson or the fairgrounds, please e-mail Stephen Thompson (lifework50@gmail.com) or call 207-623-3076.

Citizens of Bethel Form Riverside Park Trotting Association

5-8-1891 Oxford County Advertiser:

Bethel: The citizens of Bethel met Tuesday and formed an organization known as The Riverside Park Trotting Association and chose the following officers: C.M. Wormell, president; J.A. Twaddle, vice president; E.M. Walker, secretary; E.S. Kilborn, treasurer; trustees, G.P. Bean, chairman; J.M. Philbrook, H.M. Hastings, Moses A. Mason, O.P. Farrington, E.C. Rowe. The trustees have leased the land for ten years and intend to have one of the best tracks in the state. The location and land are all that could be asked for the trustees mean business and will spare no pains or money.

Text from work of Donald Bennett, Bethel, Maine

Check out The Bethel Journals!

The Bethel Historical Society

Maine's Turf, Farm and Home

The newspaper, Turf, Farm, and Home was first published in Auburn, Maine around 1890. This newspaper was considered the horseman's periodical. In 1897, the paper merged with Maine's Horse Breeders' Monthly and J.W. Thompson of Canton became the editor. About 1912, the Turf, Farm and Home merged with the Maine Press and continued publication until 1920. The Fogler Library has issues from 1912 on. However, there are only 24 documented issues of the paper between 1890 and 1912.

This is a call for issues of the Turf, Farm, and Home.

Contact Stephen Thompson at 207-623-3076, if you know where there are existing issues of this newspaper.

Issues from 1890 to 1910 will tell the stories of Maine Horsemen

during the age of 'When the Horse was King.'

The Lost Trotting Parks Storyboard Archives