Fair Street Fairgrounds.pdf
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM A -AREA MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220MORRISSEY
BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Assessor’s Sheets USGS Quad Area Letter Form Numbers in Area 25C-251 Easthampton NTH.416; NTH.976-996;2475-2493 Town: Northampton Place
(neighborhood or village): Name of Area: Tri-County Fairgrounds Present Use: fairgrounds Construction Dates or Period: late 19th c. – 20th c. Overall Condition: good-fair Major Intrusions
and Alterations: Acreage: 20 acres Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons Organization: PVPC Date (month/year): November, 2010 Topographic or Assessor's Map ___ see continuation sheet
Continuation sheet 1 ___ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as
much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Describe architectural, structural and
landscape features and evaluate in terms of other areas within the community. The Tri-County Fairgrounds are located on the floodplain of the Connecticut River in the northeast section
of Northampton. The twenty acre site is, therefore, flat in topography. Cross Path Road and Interstate-90 pass on the fairgrounds’ north and east borders, Bridge Street forms its elevated
west border, and Fair Street passes on its south – though the fair’s main office building is on the south side of Fair Street. The fairgrounds are organized around an oval, soft dirt
horse racing track. In a strip of land between the race track and Cross Path Road are thirteen wood wood horse sheds. These horse sheds are slated for demolition in 2010-2011. They are
one-story in height, have side-gable, asphalt shingled roofs, are on concrete footings, and vary in length from 8 horse stalls to 30 stalls. They are all oriented with their stall openings
towards the west and the track. On the north side of the track are two horse sheds, each 30 stalls in length under side-gable roofs. They follow the same design with their stalls opening
towards the track. These sheds are also slated for demolition. A concrete Track Tunnel about forty feet in length allows horses and riders to pass from the horse sheds under the track
into the inner race track circle and back. Turf-covered, it is located at the southeast corner of the track and is currently blocked off. In the southeast corner of the fairgrounds is
a wood Photo Patrol Tower, a small wood cubicle on wood stilts, approximately fifty feet high. On its south and east is a one-story angled, wood, Pari-Mutuel building with novelty siding.
Its asphalt shingled roof extends on the track elevations to create a porch on posts. On the south side of the track is the wood Grandstand. It is on concrete foundations, has a side-gable
roof and a one-story open equipment storage ell on the south supported on posts. The grandstand is the equivalent of three stories in height and its track elevation is open and supported
on tall wooden posts. It is fifteen bays long and its interior is constructed with twenty wooden rows that rise above track level. Aisles are formed by wood railings in each bay. The
center of the grandstand has a ground level passage to its interior and the rear ell. The exterior of the grandstand is clapboard-sided on east and west and its south elevation is novelty-sided.
On the east and west elevations the end walls are partially open for viewing purposes with an elliptical arch supported on posts and an end wall that follows the angle of the row seating.
There is a penthouse on the grandstand roof that is now sealed. West of the grandstand grandstand is the south gate and a small, one-story ticket office about 10’ x 10’. It is sided
in pressed wood. The gate is an opening in the chain link fence that surrounds the fairgrounds. On the west side of the south gate is a Club House, a one-story, concrete block building
under a metal-covered, side-gable roof, about forty feet long and open on the track side with five bays closed by roll-up garage doors. Immediately to the west of the Club House is a
one-story, wood Exhibition Hall under a side-gable roof. It rests on concrete foundations and its openings are double-leaf barn doors in its gable ends. A small concessions shed is located
between the Exhibition Hall and the next large building, the 4-H Exhibition Hall. The 4-H Exhibition hall is one-story in height under a metal-covered, side-gabled roof. The building,
about forty feet long, is brick with brick piers separating bays that are now vinyl-siding filled. In the gable ends are double-leaf barn doors. Directly west of the Exhibition Hall
is the Farm Museum Building, also known as the Frank M. Green Memorial Hall. This building is one-story in height, is L-shaped in plan, and is wood construction on a concrete foundation.
It is novelty-sided. West of the Farm Museum Building to the perimeter fence is a parking lot. North and west of the Museum Building are four barns, their roof ridges oriented in a north-south
direction: two Dairy Barns, a Sheep Barn, and a Poultry Barn. They are all one-story in height and vary in length from about one hundred to fifty feet in length. The western-most Dairy
Barn is brick and ten bays long, most of its bays filled with multipane-fixed windows. It has several ventilator structures on its roof. The second Dairy Barn, the Sheep Barn and the
Poultry Barn are all of wood construction with asphalt shingle roofs. On the east side of the Poultry Barn and divided from it by a vehicle roadway is the Horticultural Building. It
is a one-story, corrugated metal building about fifty feet long and its roof ridge is also oriented in a north-south direction. Immediately south of the Horticultural Barn is an open
structure, an open-sided Picnic/Kitchen Pavilion on a concrete foundation and supported on wooden posts. Its roof ridge is oriented in an east-west direction and it is about thirty feet
long. It is open on the east and there is an enclosed kitchen room on the west with a large ventilator on its one-story roof. At the northwest corner of the track is a second, tall Photo
Patrol Tower. On the north side of the track, close to the west corner of the track, is the Arena. This is a large corrugated metal building one-and-a-half stories in height. It has
a metal roof whose ridge runs in an east-west direction and its main façade, unlike all the other buildings at the fairgrounds is on the north. There are two Horse Barns east of the
Arena and north of the previously described wood horse sheds. The two Horse Barns are of corrugated metal. Their entries are in their gable ends and their roof ridges run in an east-west
direction. In In the interior section of the track are several structures and buildings, along with a fenced-in Paddock and a Show Ring. The first building is the Race Committee Building,
a one-story building under a side-gable roof. It is novelty-sided and has a recessed porch on its south elevation. In front of the Race Committee Building is the paddock, and to its
west is a Tote Board. Close to the inner fence of the track is the Judge’s Stand, an open-sided, but solid-railed, roofed structure about 40 feet above the level of
Continuation sheet 2 the track and set on high wooden legs. To its immediate west is the Show Ring, an oval area about 100 feet long. The second larger building in the inner track area
is a second Pari-Mutuel building, also one-story in height with openings for clerks and the placing of bets. It is novelty-sided under a side-gable roof of asphalt shingles. There are
four small, one-story, novelty-sided buildings on the inner track area. One is a Restroom, and three are unidentified as to use, but they appear to serve as storage and other track functions.
The last set of structures to be described is a row of wooden viewing boxes that have roofs and are constructed with two levels inside so that six chairs can be placed in each of two
bays for spectators. These are the Morgan Horse Owners’ Boxes. They number fourteen on the inner track and there are an additional half-dozen now located on the west end of the track
outside the fence. South of Fair Street is the Fairgrounds Office Building. It is a one-story building on concrete foundations that serves as the administrative center of the area. It
is surrounded by parking land. This listing of structures and buildings on the fairgrounds is not exhaustive, but identifies the major properties that currently make up the Tri-County
Fairgrounds. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Explain historical development of the area. Discuss how this relates to the historical development of the community. From Form F of 1980: “On January
20, 1818, the Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society was organized. The first show featured cattle and domestic manufactures and was held October 14 and 15, 1818. The cattle
were put into a six acre ‘mowing lot’ in the rear of the meetinghouse (where now are Center, Trumbull, and State Streets) and plowing matches in the meadows were the highlight of the
show. Premiums were given for: working oxen, oxen for the stall, bulls, milk cows, swine, sheep and manufactures of cloth and sheeting. Noah Webster, an Amherst resident and vice-president
of the the society, delivered the first oration: ‘The proper business of man is to enlarge the powers of his mind by knowledge, and refine it by the culture of moral habits; to increase
the means of sustenance and comfort; to supply the wants and alleviate distresses.’ By mid-century, the annual event had outgrown its Main Street site and in 1856, fourteen acres were
bought on the east side of North Street (north of the present-day railroad tracks). A half-mile track and small grandstand were built at this time. In 1861, an exhibition hall was built
to house the articles of domestic manufacture and displays of fruit, vegetables, and flowers. The size of the fair continued to increase and in 1872, the grounds were enlarged by two
acres, extensive sheds built, the track enlarged and city water pipes extended to the site. The coming of horse racings ended the old plowing matches, and as it grew steadily more popular,
the Northampton Driving Park Association was formed. They built a half-mile track and small grandstand on Fair Street. In 1891, the Agricultural Society decided to sell their land and
lease the new driving park for their annual event, taking their grandstand with them. There was some opposition to the proposal, mostly from the agriculturalists who thought that they
would get the short end of the arrangement. However, the move was made and eventually the Three County Fair directors bought the entire driving park and enlarged the site by buying surrounding
meadowland. During the 20th century, many exhibit buildings have been built and a new Bridge Street entrance, to replace the one off of Fair Street was built in 1924. Horse racing continues
to be a major part of the fair and there are a large number of horse sheds at the northeastern corner of the grounds.” BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Hampshire
Massachusetts, New York, 1873. Hales, John G. Plan of the Town or Northampton in the County of Hampshire, 1831. Miller, D. L. Atlas of the City of Northampton and Town of Easthampton,
Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, 1895. Walker, George H. and Company. Atlas of Northampton City, Massachusetts, Boston, 1884. Walling, Henry F. Map of Hampshire County,
Massachusetts, New York, 1860.
Continuation sheet 3 Race Committee Building Grandstand and storage ell Track, Morgan Horse Owners’ Boxes, and Judges’ Stand
Continuation sheet 4 L-R: Dairy Barn, Dairy Barn, Sheep Barn, Poultry Barn, Kitchen/Picnic Pavilion. L-R: Horse Barn, Horse Shed, Horse Shed, Horse Shed behind Track Eastern Horse Sheds
to be demolished
Continuation sheet 5 Track Tunnel at its inner track entry. Data Sheet Address Name MHC# Off Fair Street horse shed NTH.966 Horse shed NTH.967 Track tunnel NTH.968 Photo tower #1 NTH.969
Pari-mutuel NTH.2475 Grandstand NTH.907 Ticket office NTH.970 Club house NTH.2476 Exhibition hall NTH.2477 Exhibition hall NTH.2478 Dairy barn NTH.2479 Dairy barn NTH,2480 Sheep barn
NTH.2481 Poultry barn NTH.2482 Horticulture Bldg. NTH.2483 Picnic pavilion NTH.971 Photo tower #2 NTH.972 Arena NTH.973 Horse barn NTH.2484 Horse barn NTH.2485 Track NTH.974 Race Comm.
Bldg NTH.2486 Tote board NTH.975 Judges’ Stand NTH.908 Pari-mutuel NTH.2487 Restroom NTH.2488 Storage Bldg NTH.2489 Storage Bldg NTH.2490 Storage Bldg NTH.2491 Morgan Owners’ Boxes NTH.976-996
Fair Offices NTH.2492