Elk County Fairgrounds

[W. Gray]

ELK COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
(Report for 1880)

William Driscoll, Secretary, Howard

FAIRGROUNDS AND FAIRS
The improvements which have been made on the fairgrounds amount to about $260. A hedge fence incloses the yards. The race track is one-half mile long. There is no shade on the grounds. They are located one mile from the depot at Howard, on the Elk & Chautauqua Railroad. Paw Paw Creek, adjacent, affords our water supply. The annual fair was held September 29th and 30, and October 1st and 2nd.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Capital Stock $2,000
Receipts $673.65
Disbursements, $673.65

Above is from the Second Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture.

The fairgrounds were once located north of Howard along Paw Paw Creek?
The current fairgrounds in Howard are close to Rock Creek and about one-half mile from the former depot.

[frawin]

Waldo, this is a picture from the Howard Racetrack in 1908. This is from the Hottinger Collection. I have several pictures of famous Trotting Horses Racing at Howard in the early 1900s.

[W. Gray]

Where would that race track be though?

Up near Paw Paw Creek or down at the current fairgrounds.

[frawin]

Waldo, my feeling is that it is where the Fairgrounds and Grandstands are now, or what is left of them. I remember working on new or rebuilt Grandstands in the early 50s. I spent 2 days, or more working with Roy Ames drilling holes and bolting the seat and foot boards on. The one in the picture appears to set in the same place and faces the track the same. That is just my opinion, I have some pictures of the Grandstands after they were rebuilt in the early 50s, if I can find them I will post some.
Waldo, another thought I had was that this is probably at the new location (where it is now) because they didn't have room at the PawPaw location for the  size of the track and grandstand they wanted to build. The grandstand in this picture looks to be very new.

Waldo, I need to make a trip to Topeka to copy some information from old Howard Newspapers, I will check out when the Fairgrounds/Racetrack changed locations.

[Janet Harrington]

This grandstand is really a lot larger then the one that sets there now.

[frawin]

Janet, it is a lot larger than the current one, when the one in the picture was built, Howard was on the National Trotting Horse Circuit, and 10,000+ people lived in the county. The one in the picture was all wood frame which deteriorated over time. The current one that I think was done in the early 50s had steel pipe framing.

[Wilma]

I understand that my maternal great grandfather raised and raced trotters.  He lived on the far side of Sumner County, west of Conway Springs.  I wonder if there are any records of the participants in the races.

[frawin]

Waldo, this picture gives a different view of the Track in 1909. I would say from this view you are looking North-Northeast and the upper right side of the picture is looking at what was later Dr. Frank Reids home and your Uncle Waldo's home.The announcers stand is directly accross from the main grandstand which is where it was in the 50s and 60s. I think the earlier picture of the Grandstand was in fact at the current Fairgrounds.

[frawin]

Wilma, I have some pictures of the Trotting horses that came to Howard in the early day. I will dig them out and post them for you.

[W. Gray]

Speaking of mule races:

In the Howard County Fair in 1872 or 73 they had riderless mule races. As I recall, the prize was $5.00 for the owning winner, which was one of the higher paying entry prizes. However, the winner was not the fastest mule but the slowest mule on a 1/2 mile run.

I probably have the 1870s news article around here somewhere but I don't believe it included what was done to get the riderless mule to run or to be slow.