The Eastside Fairgrounds

 

The Eastside Fairgrounds were established in 1890 and were a replacement for the Grange Fairgrounds.  The location of the fairgrounds can be seen on the 1895 plat. Unfortunately the many buildings on the property were not drawn into the plat. In November of 1889 there was at article in the Pantagraph regarding the intent to abandon the Grange fair. No property was selected for the new fair, but the organizers did consider a property near the "Y." The property that we know to be the location of the grounds was purchased around March 11, 1890. Another article in the paper indicates that in  June of 1890 the first races at the new fairgrounds were scheduled. A racetrack, grandstands and stables had been built by that time. The day before the first races the tracks for the street cars were just completed. When the next races were held more buildings had been completed and larger numbers were present at the Labor Day festivities on September 16, 1890. George Miller acted as the architect for the fairgrounds and the Pantagraph publicised the bidding on jobs at his offices. I have several more clippings regarding the fairgrounds on Newspapers.com.  Just search for "fairgrounds" in my clippings.