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Charter Oak Park was constructed by the
Connecticut Stock Breeders' Association at a cost of around $ 100,000. The one-mile oval was located on a 143 acre parcel of land located two-miles from Hartford's business district. The grandstand had a seating capacity of 4,000 and room for an extra 2,000
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In addition to holding harness races, Charter Oak Park also hosted college track and field events and bicycle races. From 1874 to 1881 the
Connecticut Agricultural Society used the park to host the Connecticut State Fair.
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187:. Although illegal, the $ 50 fine was much less than what the park would bring in on a Sunday. In 1908, the park was acquired by the Connecticut Fair Association, which ran it until its closure in 1910.
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spoke at the fair. In 1929, the
Connecticut State Fair, which had never been financially successful, was canceled. The Grand Circuit races were held that August instead of during
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purchased
Charter Oak Park in order to construct a new factory there. The track buildings were torn down that year and Pratt & Whitney moved into their new factory in 1939.
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In 1908, the first
Connecticut Fair was held at the park. In 1910, Welch sold Charter Oak Park for $ 175,000 in order to fund a more elaborate fair. The 1911 fair saw President
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Ebenzer
Roberts, Burdett Loomis, and William H. Peck each served as track president during its early years. Alexander Harbison was president from 1878 until 1885, when
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On April 4, 1896, the track was purchased at auction by Henry
Kennedy for $ 20,810. Shortly thereafter, the park was acquired by Andrew J. Welch, who hired
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bill. This ended both horse racing and bicycle racing at
Charter Oak Park, as the bill prohibited leasing the property for racing purposes for prizes.
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that was open from 1874 to 1893, when an anti-gambling bill resulted in its closure. It reopened in 1897 and remained in operation until 1931.
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won a proxy battle to become president of the
Connecticut Stock Breeders' Association. Charter Oak Park was a member of the
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patrons. The area under the stands was fitted for use by agricultural fairs. The park opened on August 25, 1874.
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attend some of the day's Grand
Circuit races and deliver a speech. The following year presidential candidates
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as manager. Welch brought horse racing, including Grand Circuit races, back to Charter Oak Park in 1897.
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In 1906, 12-acres of the Charter Oak property were sold to the Chatford Company for the construction of
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On June 16–17, 1905, the track hosted an automobile meet, which included AAA championship race won by
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176:. The park hosted many other motor races, including a 1911 race between an automobile and a biplane.
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183:. The amusement park attracted controversy by operating on Sundays
653:"Niles-Bement-Pond Rate Of Incoming Orders Ahead of Shipments".
307:
Massachusetts Ploughman and New England Journal of Agriculture
538:"Luna Park: A 20th-century Story of Amusement and Morality"
1352:Buildings and structures in Hartford, Connecticut
1357:Defunct horse racing venues in the United States
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680:
305:"Connecticut Stock Breeders' Association".
701:race venues (1905, 1916, 1920–41, 1946–55)
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222:took possession of the property. In 1937,
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113:was an American harness racing track in
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593:"Candidates to speak at Charter Oak".
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130:won the final race of the first meet.
1347:1931 disestablishments in Connecticut
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1362:Defunct sports venues in Connecticut
356:. Hartford: W. H. Gocher. p. 21
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420:"No Trotting at Charter Oak Park".
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1342:1874 establishments in Connecticut
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1372:Sports venues demolished in 1937
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1367:Sports venues completed in 1874
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623:"Hartford Building Programs".
495:"Aeroplane Beats Automobile".
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350:Gocher, William Henry (1903).
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335:"Charter Oak Park Politics".
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210:week when the fair was held.
280:"Racing at Charter Oak Park"
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153:In 1893, the passed an Anti-
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563:"Welch Sells Charter Oak".
10:
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608:"State Fair Passed Over".
512:"The Scandalous Luna Park"
390:"College Records Broken".
375:"Connecticut State Fair".
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578:"Taft Sees Horses Race".
435:"Charter Oak Park Sold".
353:Fasig's Tales of the Turf
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320:"Trotting at Hartford".
28:Charter Oak Park c. 1895
655:The Wall Street Journal
625:The Wall Street Journal
542:Connecticut History.org
1038:Pittsburgh-Bridgeville
518:. Connecticut Explored
286:. Connecticut Explored
214:Closure and demolition
185:in defiance of the law
699:National Championship
657:. September 13, 1940.
642:. September 13, 1937.
379:. September 11, 1878.
115:Hartford, Connecticut
67:41.74111°N 72.72528°W
38:Hartford, Connecticut
983:Baltimore-Washington
612:. September 8, 1929.
582:. September 8, 1911.
516:Connecticut Explored
409:. September 9, 1886.
339:. February 10, 1885.
284:Connecticut Explored
224:Pratt & Whitney
220:Chase National Bank
192:William Howard Taft
141:from 1876 to 1894.
72:41.74111; -72.72528
63: /
18:
610:The New York Times
580:The New York Times
497:The New York Times
422:The New York Times
405:"Swift Wheeling".
392:The New York Times
377:The New York Times
337:The New York Times
322:The New York Times
262:. August 26, 1874.
247:. August 25, 1874.
200:Theodore Roosevelt
16:
1329:
1328:
731:Narragansett Park
627:. March 16, 1937.
597:. August 9, 1912.
567:. March 31, 1909.
465:"Oldfield Lost".
450:"Time Was Fast".
424:. April 19, 1893.
324:. April 27, 1878.
204:Simeon E. Baldwin
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1193:Great Barrington
792:Charter Oak Park
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640:The Boston Globe
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484:. June 18, 1905.
482:The Boston Globe
480:"Car Capsized".
477:
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469:. June 17, 1905.
467:The Boston Globe
462:
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452:The Boston Globe
447:
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439:. April 5, 1896.
437:The Boston Globe
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407:The Boston Globe
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309:. March 4, 1876.
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260:The Boston Globe
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245:The Boston Globe
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167:William B. Fasig
111:Charter Oak Park
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1083:Street circuits
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1043:Rockingham Park
968:Akron-Cleveland
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915:Rockingham Park
905:Recreation Park
850:Kenilworth Park
787:Centennial Park
745:
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693:
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652:
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638:"Hoof Prints".
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544:. CT Humanities
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499:. May 31, 1911.
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454:. June 7, 1897.
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865:Las Vegas Park
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827:Good Time Park
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782:Brunots Island
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394:. May 9, 1897.
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196:Woodrow Wilson
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128:Goldsmith Maid
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103:Harness racing
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1058:Speedway Park
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1048:San Francisco
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1023:Fulford–Miami
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988:Beverly Hills
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832:Grosse Pointe
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510:Leach, Gene.
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202:and Governor
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149:First closure
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139:Grand Circuit
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1322:(hill climb)
1316:(brick oval)
1314:Indianapolis
1307:Other tracks
1121:Santa Monica
1078:Road courses
895:Randall Park
870:Legion Ascot
842:Indianapolis
837:Hudson River
791:
721:Indianapolis
654:
648:
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633:
624:
618:
609:
603:
594:
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546:. Retrieved
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520:. Retrieved
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445:
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358:. Retrieved
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321:
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306:
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288:. Retrieved
283:
259:
258:"The Turf".
253:
244:
243:"The Turf".
238:
217:
189:
178:
171:
164:
152:
143:
132:
124:
110:
109:
1253:Selinsgrove
1111:Mines Field
1028:Kansas City
1008:Culver City
960:Board ovals
935:Springfield
880:Morris Park
846:Kansas City
812:Empire City
777:Bay Meadows
708:Paved ovals
121:Early years
91:Date closed
83:Date opened
70: /
45:Coordinates
1336:Categories
1320:Pikes Peak
1293:Winchester
1283:Washington
1223:Port Royal
1208:Harrington
1198:Greensboro
1188:Flemington
1163:Bloomsburg
1013:Des Moines
998:Cincinnati
920:Sacramento
817:Fort Miami
772:Bainbridge
768:Ascot Park
751:Dirt ovals
716:Darlington
230:References
94:1893, 1931
86:1874, 1897
58:72°43′31″W
55:41°44′28″N
1278:Uniontown
1263:Skowhegan
1218:Langhorne
1168:Charlotte
1143:Allentown
1116:Roosevelt
1068:Uniontown
993:Charlotte
900:Readville
875:Milwaukee
860:Langhorne
822:Glenville
764:Arlington
741:Twin City
736:Southland
726:Milwaukee
548:8 October
522:8 October
360:4 October
290:8 October
218:In 1931,
208:Labor Day
181:Luna Park
161:Reopening
99:Race type
1268:Thompson
1243:Richmond
1213:Lakewood
1148:Altamont
940:Syracuse
930:San Jose
925:St. Paul
855:Lakewood
34:Location
1273:Trenton
1248:Rutland
1238:Reading
1233:Raleigh
1203:Hamburg
1158:Bedford
1153:Batavia
1134:Big car
973:Altoona
945:Trenton
890:Phoenix
885:Oakland
807:DuQuoin
802:Detroit
797:Del Mar
759:Altoona
1258:Shelby
1228:Powell
1178:DuBois
1173:Dayton
1136:tracks
1106:Lowell
1101:Fresno
1091:Corona
1063:Tacoma
1018:Fresno
1003:Cotati
1096:Elgin
1033:Omaha
1131:1946
910:Roby
550:2022
524:2022
362:2022
292:2022
198:and
155:Pool
696:AAA
1338::
540:.
514:.
282:.
268:^
1080:/
688:e
681:t
674:v
552:.
526:.
364:.
294:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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