Birds Eye View of Original York Fairgrounds Site
As a result of my post York Fair Grounds Particulars from 1877, I received a request to determine approximately where the track and buildings were located on terms of present York streets. I’ve marked-up a 2014 Bing.com SOUTH LOOKING Birds-Eye View to indicate the extent of the original (1856-1888) York Fairgrounds. I’ve also over-sketched the approximate location of the race track.
The Authentic General Directory of the Boroughs of York, Hanover & Wrightsville in York County, PA was published for 1877 by Herman & Miller and Thomas in York, PA. The directory contains a sketch of the Grounds of the York County Agricultural Society, which IFai’ve blown up into two sections; a West Side view and an East Side view, with the direction of these views noted on the Birds-Eye Aerial View.
The fairgrounds Entrance, at the corner of East King Street and Fair Avenue was attached to a two-story brick building; it was used as the judges’ hall, ticket office, etc. An Exhibition Building was frame and built in the shape of a Greek cross; that building would have been located in the vicinity of the present South Pine Street, between East Princess and East Prospect Streets.
The approximate location of the 1/3rd-mile Track is over-sketched on the Birds-Eye Aerial View. The front-stretch basically parallels East Princess Street and the back-stretch basically parallels Forry Avenue. The 1877 illustration shows a short-straight-stretch after the first turn, near the east-end of the fairgrounds. The Grand Stand would have been located about on the south-side of present East Princess Street. Around all sides of the fairgrounds, except East King Street were the live stock stalls.
The Managers of the Orphans’ Home operated a Dining Room in a frame building, which would have been located just east of the Exhibition Building and south of the Grand Stand. That location is approximately between present East Locust Street and Poplar Avenue. Here fair visitors could obtain their meals, with the proceeds going to the Orphans’ Home.
I’ve transferred the fairgrounds boundaries onto the following 2014 Google Street Map of York, PA as a reference to all the streets in the vicinity of the Original York Fairgrounds Site.
The York Fairgrounds were in existence at this location from 1856 until 1888. In 1888, the York County Agricultural Society moved the Fair Grounds to the site, which is the present York Fair/York Expo Center property, west of York.
Related posts include:
- York Fair Grounds Particulars from 1877
- College Football Games were played on the York Fairgrounds during the York Fair
- The Great Potato Chip Battle; Martin’s versus Utz
- Cliff Satterthwaite artwork drawn at YORK FAIR
- Animals Run Wild at YORK FAIR
- Bingo Banned at YORK FAIR; Cliff Satterthwaite explains his Artwork
- Numbers Game at the YORK FAIR
- The Mighty Atom entertained at the YORK FAIR for over Five Decades
- YORK FAIR Finger Ring Mementos crafted by The Mighty Atom
- Red Lion Fair ran 8 Days in August of 1924
