The Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center has launched its latest initiative. The Center’s publication, S. Dexter’s The Maine Spirit of the Turf,  will begin its publication cycle for the year 2017. The publication will examine “The Maine Spirit” by working with representatives of Maine’s Agricultural Fair and the Maine harness racing industry. The Maine Spirit of the…

The Lincoln Trotting Park Researched by Lawrence “Bing” Sturgeon for the Lincoln Historical Society December, 1994 The Lincoln Trotting Park Association was incorporated by an Act of the Maine Legislature and approved February 18. 1869. The Association had eleven members. They were: William R. Heresy. F.E.Nute, H.G. Coburn, J.F. Robinson, Henry S. Wing, M.L. Ross, William R….

As part of Lost Trotting Parks’ latest research initiative, we explore the life of Ashford Carr, the loggers at Pea Cove, and Baked Bean Suppers. Thanks to Peter Stowell, who is writing an Images of America Book on Old Town Lost Trotting Parks has been able to locate and research Old Town’s two trotting parks — one…

The Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center is in the midst of a fund raising campaign for 2016. All tax deductible contributions are directed at the expenses of the Center. We do not have personnel cost. Our expenses include the purchase of historic memorabilia, materials for displays, the printing of storyboards and banners for displays that are exhibited…

The work of the Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center started in April of 2009. Three years later, the Center became a tax-deductible nonprofit. The Center is now an online museum — losttrottingparks.com. This web site also contains links to the work completed over the past five years. To continue our work we need financial contributions for our…

With research projects focusing on Carroll and Old Town, an 1875 map of Penobscot County will provide readers perspectives on the location of these two towns and surrounding communities. If you are a user of Google Earth or Google Maps you can look at aerial views of these commnities today.

  This post provides data from the Maine Yearbooks or Maine Registers for the years 1871, 1876, 1879, 1881 and 1887. Through the four storyboards posted one can see the names of businesses and community leaders. The map of Carroll published in an Atlas of 1875 provides us with the names of the residents and the locations…

The Carroll Trotting Park Association was formed in 1871 by State of Maine legislative action. From the Center’s  research it appears that Maine’s agricultural societies and trotting parks were created by such action. Carroll is a neighboring town to Springfield, Maine, a community that hosted an agricultural fair and harness racing in the 19th century. The Springfield Fair…

In an 1872 map of Saco and Biddeford, Pepperell Park on Beach Street in Saco is featured as Saco’s trotting park. Today Pepperell Park is one of Saco’s city parks including a school.