This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
Watertown Inter-County Fair Association
1905-1927
1905
Watertown Daily Times, 03 15
1905
At
city hall Monday evening was held a mass meeting to discuss the advisability of
organizing a Fair organization of Watertown.
It was the unanimous opinion of those present that an annual Fair was
desirable for our city and it was the sense of the meeting that the matter
should be pushed to a successful issue. E. E. Grube (should be H. G. Grube) ... gave the assurance that the Watertown Driving Park Club would be willing to turn
in its property to a fair association if such an organization were formed. This
property includes the half mile track, buildings, fences, etc., now on the
driving club's grounds in the Seventh ward.
1924
Watertown Daily Times, 1924
When
the project of a county fair for Watertown was broached Herman Grube was one of
its ardent supporters and helped in many ways to launch it to a successful issue.
He had
been previously identified with the Watertown Driving Association, which was
merged with the fair association, and was elected treasurer of the Watertown
Inter-County fair, which position he held during the first three years,
relinquishing the office owing to stress of other duties connected with the
fair.
1905
Watertown Daily Times, 03 28
1905
A
second meeting of those interested in the establishment of a fair association
in this city was held last Thursday evening, and was well attended. S. E.
Woodard presided and Charles Mulberger acted
as secretary.
The
report from the special committees appointed was most encouraging, and it was
decided to push the work with all possible speed and hold a fair this year. The
work of soliciting stock subscriptions will begin at once. It will be necessary
to raise about $7000 in addition to what will be turned over to the association
from the driving club, but this will not be hard to secure, as when the
previous organization was being effected about three years ago, fully that
amount was raised in a short while, but the project fell through.
The
above named will be used for the construction of a fence, exhibit buildings and
stables, etc., and a portion of it will be used to advertise the fair and pay
current expenses.
1905
Watertown Daily Times, 05 17
1905
A
committee of the Watertown Inter-County Fair Association has started to solicit
stock subscriptions and will call on the business people for amounts varying
according to their means. Another committee has secured several thousand
dollars and it now remains for the businessmen of the city to make up the
balance so that a fair next fall may be assured . . . As soon as the subscriptions
are all in a date can be set and the work of advertising the fair commenced.
1905
Watertown Daily Times, 06 15
1905
The
prospects for the success of the Inter-County Fair which will hold its first
meeting September 19-22 continue bright. It is surprising and at the same time
gratifying to the officers of the association to note the great interest
evinced by the general public over this event. Farmers from neighboring towns
are more than pleased and the great crowd in the city Tuesday kept the fair
officials busy answering questions propounded.
Secretary
Charles Mulberger states that the premium list is now being arranged and the
racing events will be the best that can be secured in Wisconsin. The total
purses will aggregate $4500, which will not fail to draw some fast racers. In
the way of other amusements, Secretary Mulberger is arranging for some
high-priced features which are entirely new and novel, and will give the
inter-county a great reputation from the start. The evening free attractions
will be no less interesting and a good sum for this purpose has already been
pledged. Watertown is able to accommodate without inconvenience the large
crowds which will come to the city on this occasion.
1905
Derived from Watertown Remembered
In
1905, at the prodding of Mayor Herman Wertheimer, the Watertown Intercity (or
Inter-County) Fair Association launched another series of successful annual
fairs on the spacious grounds south of the Armory. Besides the usual
exhibitions, the fair offered something for everybody. You could buy cream
candy, rubber balls on strings, gyroscopes, glass fountain pens, have your
fortune told and your picture taken on tintype, or see a real motion picture,
the "Great Train Robbery." At
1906
Watertown Daily Times, 09 12
1906
This
is the season of the year when people's fancies turn to the subject of fairs.
This portion of the state has a goodly number of them which are taking place
now or will within the next week or two and interest in them grows as the time
approaches. It is at these annual fairs that the farmer proudly exhibits the
fine stock and grains he has raised the past year and his wife's butter and
prize jellies of the culinary department of the household. It is this feature
of the fairs that really accomplishes the most good, for it educates the farmer
and his wife, but then their value and social affairs must also be given much
credit.
City
people, too, take a continued if not growing interest in fairs, even though
their nature has been changed somewhat from the spectacular shows that once
were with horse races the chief features.
1906
Watertown Daily Times, 09 13
1906
Late
developments have gone to show that the speed program of the Watertown
Inter-County fair next week will be an unqualified success. The entries
yesterday poured in at a lively rate and Secretary Mulberger is jubilant and
now assures all that the race program will be one that will have no superior in
the state. There will be a large field of horses, including many of the best in
this country. Last evening, thirty-one entries had been made in the pace and
trot events, to say nothing of the running races that are scheduled for each
day. Horsemen know a good thing when they see it; therefore many are to take
advantage of the liberal purses that are offered by the association for the
various events.
1907
Watertown Daily Times, 09 28
1907
The Watertown
Inter-County fair came to a close last evening after having had a very
successful week. Despite the unfavorable weather of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Despite the unfavorable weather conditions the first of the week, the fair
officers are satisfied that it was no worse and they feel quite well satisfied
with the way things turned out. The rains and threatening aspect of the skies
no doubt debarred many from going to the grounds. Nevertheless, the fair was a
big success from the standpoint of attendance and entertainment.
Yesterday,
the attendance was not as large as was anticipated it being estimated that
about 3,000 people were on the grounds. It is also estimated by the management
that about 30,000 people visited the fair during the last three days.
1908
09 04 Arrangements
practically completed for the 1908 Inter-County fair WG
09 18 A
great success. WG
Watertown Remembered
When
the Interurban Railway came to Watertown in 1908,
it laid tracks down
In
that same year the Interurban made an attempt to bolster its failing business
by opening a fine new depot on
The
ride to Milwaukee was much more pleasant than it had been on the old trolleys.
But the Interurban could not compete with the automobile, and it followed the
fair into oblivion in 1940.
The
T.M.E.R.& L., as it was called (The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light
Company), had come to Watertown 32 years before, in 1908. It once ran the
length of
1909
01 15 Request to build interurban this year as far
south as the fairgrounds so that it could be of use in time for the 1909
annual fair WG
02 05 Additional
building to be erected on grounds; a fifty-foot addition added to the grand
stand, old officers re-elected
WG
09 03 Herman
Wertheimer recognition WG
09 17 Watertown Fair
of 1909; Children’s Day WG
1920
09 14 Watertown Fair: September 21, 22, 23 and 24. Bigger and Better Than Ever WG
1930s
Troop K 105th
Cavalry (part of the National Guard) boarded horses
at the old fairgrounds on the city's south side.
__________________________________________________________
Old History Remnants Recovered
1999
Watertown Daily Times, 04 10 1999
City
workers are currently in the process of a road building project on the south
side that has unearthed a little smattering of old history.
The crews
are constructing a new roadbed on Utah Street south of Boomer Street. That new
section of road is badly needed. The existing pavement was in pretty tough
shape and drainage was poor. This short dead end street serves Wisconsin Auto
Parts, Badger Car Wash and Holz Motors.
Well,
while the crews were digging up the roadbed, they found a bunch of old railroad
ties.
Those
ties are all that's left of the old branch line of the interurban, known
formally as The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (TMER&L).
The
interurban or TMER&L was a trolley car system from Milwaukee to Watertown,
with other branch lines going south to Kenosha and north to Sheboygan. Service
came to Watertown on July 31, 1908, and ended rather quietly on Feb. 1, 1940, a
victim of the popularity of the automobile.
These
old ties which were dug up really brought back memories of a lesser known part
of the interurban history.
By the
time the interurban arrived on July 31, 1908 for the first time, the railway owners
had already set their sights on extending the line all the way to Madison.
Rights of way had been purchased and the tracks were laid south of the city's
business district to the intersection with the Chicago and North Western tracks
and station. The plan was to extend it all the way to Madison in the very near
future, and it was to have been done on private, rather than public, right of
way. But it never materialized.
In
addition to that plan, the owners had other ambitious ideas. The tracks were laid
south along South Second Street, and along what is now the
sliver of land between Highway 26 south and Utah Street.
The
terminal was the former Grinwald Ford dealership at Second and Market streets,
so that track extension seemed pretty logical.
The
immediate need was to service the intercounty fair, but the ultimate goal was
to have the service extend south to the county seat in Jefferson.
Site
of the intercounty fair, always held the third week of September, was the
general area of the Watertown National Guard Armory, the Watertown Municipal
Airport, and the three businesses we mentioned above.
That
track was installed and grading was even completed about a mile south of the
fair stop. But, again, there never was an effort to get the tracks all the way
to Jefferson. It became too expensive, especially with the growing competition
from the automobile.
Our
records show that as late as 1934 tracks were still in place out to the
intercounty fair, and maybe it was even longer. No doubt what was dug up there
this week are the remaining ties of a once very busy line.
The
round trip cost to the intercounty fair from any interurban stop in Watertown
was five cents. What a bargain!
A map
of the tracks show the branch continued south on Second Street, under the
Milwaukee Road (now Canadian Pacific) tracks and then at Second and Hyland
streets, there were several turnoffs probably used to store extra cars.
Then
the track traveled adjacent to River Drive which was the old highway at the
time. There was double track, presumably a passing siding from the approximate
location of Stimpson Street at River Drive south to Mary Street where it again
became single track.
Image Portfolio
Click to enlarge
|
Inter
County Fair horse race |
1909,
Crowd arriving at fairgrounds via Interurban fair line |
1910,
Inter Country Fair 300
block E Main |
1913,
Inter County Fair advertisement |
|
1914, Inter County Fair advertisement |
|
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