Interesting that the owner was declared a lunatic and the land became the site of the Lunatic Asylum. Think there’s a connection?
> On Mar 27, 2018, at 12:00 AM, VA-HIST automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> There are 2 messages totaling 80 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
> 1. Fairfield Race Course - question (2)
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> Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2018 13:47:24 -0400
> From: David Talley <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Fairfield Race Course - question
>
> The Library of Virginia's newspaper collection can provide more information. I took a quick look at the online collection at virginiachronicle.com and found the following:
> a) Petersburg Republican 12-Mar-1819, page 4 col. 2 - An ad offering stud services by a horse named Sir Hal. It says that he won races at Fairfield in 1813 and 1815.
> b) Richmond Whig and Commercial Journal 25-Apr-1832 page 3 col. 2 - A story about the resumption of racing at Fairfield after a gap of 17 years.
> The older Richmond papers in their collection that aren't online would be the place to look for earlier mentions of the track.
>
> Racing ads and stories show that racing meets were held in the spring and fall from 1832 to 1860. I found one mention of a single race held in 1861, by which time the Fairfield course was already a Confederate Army camp. There were a few races run in the post war period into the 1870's, but not on a regular schedule. I haven't come across any races in the 1880's or beyond.
>
> The Fairfield course was on land leased from the Fairfield plantation, which was owned by James Talley (no relation). After his death in 1858, it passed to his son James C. Talley. He was declared a lunatic and the land was sold off in 1886. See the sale ad: Richmond Dispatch 03-Jun-1886 page 4 col. 6. The ad describes the property as a suburb of Richmond. It must have been annexed into the city sometime after that.
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> ------------------------------
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> Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2018 12:25:37 -0400
> From: Eric Huffstutler <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Fairfield Race Course - question
>
> Thanks, David for all of the information you found! I did find an 1808 race entry in the newspapers prior to my post. I did see that Battery 4 (I believe) was on the Talley land but the race track was not immediately adjacent so was not sure. Battery 5 near the present corner of Nine Mile Rd and Creighton Rd., had heavy artillery and they used the course for lighter artillery during the Civil War. Yet, one book mentioned that the course opened during the American Revolution of 1775-1783. Finding that information or Henrico maps showing landowners during that time period has been a challenge. Any idea where to look?
>
> The area that the course stood was annexed in sections as the county line cut through it at one time. The lower 3/4 was annexed in 1914 while the upper 1/4 in 1942.
> In 1831, the proprietor (owner?) was John S. Corbin. And some say there is an 1890 map that I have yet o see that mentions the course as the "old" Fairfield Race Course while the 1901 Henrico map only shows the property lines owned by Peter Paul, who died in 1906. I wonder when he purchased the land / course?
>
> Again, Thanks!
>
>> On March 24, 2018 at 1:47 PM David Talley <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>
>> The Library of Virginia's newspaper collection can provide more information. I took a quick look at the online collection at virginiachronicle.com and found the following:
>> a) Petersburg Republican 12-Mar-1819, page 4 col. 2 - An ad offering stud services by a horse named Sir Hal. It says that he won races at Fairfield in 1813 and 1815.
>> b) Richmond Whig and Commercial Journal 25-Apr-1832 page 3 col. 2 - A story about the resumption of racing at Fairfield after a gap of 17 years.
>> The older Richmond papers in their collection that aren't online would be the place to look for earlier mentions of the track.
>>
>> Racing ads and stories show that racing meets were held in the spring and fall from 1832 to 1860. I found one mention of a single race held in 1861, by which time the Fairfield course was already a Confederate Army camp. There were a few races run in the post war period into the 1870's, but not on a regular schedule. I haven't come across any races in the 1880's or beyond.
>>
>> The Fairfield course was on land leased from the Fairfield plantation, which was owned by James Talley (no relation). After his death in 1858, it passed to his son James C. Talley. He was declared a lunatic and the land was sold off in 1886. See the sale ad: Richmond Dispatch 03-Jun-1886 page 4 col. 6. The ad describes the property as a suburb of Richmond. It must have been annexed into the city sometime after that.
>>
>> ______________________________________
>> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
>> http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>>
>> This list is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
>
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> End of VA-HIST Digest - 21 Mar 2018 to 26 Mar 2018 (#2018-33)
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