Each autumn, New Englanders flock to the region's popular country and
agricultural fairs. Eastern Connecticut folk can choose from several
fairs. The most well-known fairs are in Brooklyn, Lebanon, Hebron and
Woodstock. It is largely forgotten that between 1883 and 1913,
Willimantic held one of the largest agricultural fairs in the Northeast.
The Willimantic Fair midway was considered to be the best in the
Northeast, replete with snake
charmers, magicians, snake oil salesmen and
belly dancers. The first
Willimantic Fair took place in October 1883 thanks to the generosity of
the Willimantic Linen Co. It expended more than $12,000 to build the
Willimantic Fairgrounds in the area known today as Recreation Park. The
linen company installed one of the best horse-trotting tracks in the
Northeast, and installed 34 large electric, arc lamps that illuminated
the trotting course, thus allowing racing to take place at night. In
1913, however, there was a concern that the Fair would not be held. The
American Thread Company had informed the fair ground authorities that it
intended to develop the area as
a recreational park for their
employees. Hasty negotiations began between Fair organizers and
ATCO officials and the okay was given to hold the fair. But another
problem arose. A week before the commencement of the 1913 Willimantic
Fair, it was sensationally announced that the National Trotting
Association had blacklisted the Horseshoe Park Agricultural Association,
the authorities that administered the Willimantic Fairgrounds, and
banned them from holding trotting races. The vice presi-
dent of the HPAC, Truman R. Sadd, a well-known local
businessman,had raced a champion trotter, Billiken, under a
false name during the 1911 fair
meeting. The NTA disallowed trotting in Willimantic until Sadd
returned the purse money won by his “ringer.” Sadd subsequently resigned
and the fair went ahead. The 1913 Willimantic Fair
was a huge success and featured the appearance of‘ a flying
machine, a Burgess-Wright
aeroplane, flown by the famous
Rhode Island aviator Jack McGee
who thrilled the Willimantic crowd with his aerobatics. It came as a
shock to many in town when, one month later, the HPAC announced it would
auction all of its buildings and property on the fairgrounds.
The Thread Company had made final its decision to redevelop the
land as a park. The track, which was considered to have been the best
half mile track in Connecticut would be kept by ATCO “for athletic
purposes” but the rest of the area was to be developed as a playground.
And so, the Fair organizers decided that the equipment and buildings
would be auctioned off. The auction went ahead on Oct. 29, 1913. The
details reveal what an extensive complex existed on Recreation Park. The
auctioneer was Chauncey E. Macfarlane, a member of the association and
the father of Florence Macfarlane, the only woman ever to serve as
Willimantic’s mayor in 1971-72. More than 100 people attended the
auction. William Hastings purchased the exhibition building for $500.
John Andrews purchased the grandstand for $270. The four barns were sold
for a total of $480, and the fence enclosing the grounds was sold for
$80. Dominic Menditto purchased
the bleachers, the vaudeville platform, a stable, 10 stalls and three
outhouses for $180. Napoleon
Bacon picked up the bandstand for $3. The net proceeds of the auction
came to $1,413.25. The HPAC was
disappointed with the amount saying that the property sold was worth
closer to $20,000. The Horseshoe
Park Agricultural Fair directors were confident that the 1914 fair would
go ahead on new grounds adjacent to the trolley tracks on the road to
Coventry. There was hope that a new agricultural fair association would
be formed. Local merchants favored the idea because of the business the
fair brought to the city. However, land would have to be purchased and
several buildings erected and the $15,00 price tag for that was a hurdle
that couldn’t be overcome, especially since it would be for a site that
was used for only a few days every year. And so the blow of being
ejected from the fairgrounds and eventual disinterest in re-forming an
association led to the demise of the famous Willimantic Fair after a
highly successful run of 31 years.
This week’s photo showed the preparations for a balloon ascension and
parachute jump that occurred during the Willimantic Fair of September,
1910.
Click on photo for larger version
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