Charter Oak Park

On April 4, 1896, the track was purchased at auction by Henry Kennedy for $20,810.^[12] Shortly thereafter, the park was acquired by Andrew J. Welch, who hired William B. Fasig as manager. Welch brought horse racing, including Grand Circuit races, back to Charter Oak Park in 1897.^[13]

On June 16–17, 1905, the track hosted an automobile meet, which included AAA championship race won by Barney Oldfield.^[14][15] The park hosted many other motor races, including a 1911 race between an automobile and a biplane.^[16]

In 1906, 12 acres of the Charter Oak property were sold to the Chatford Company for the construction of Luna Park. The amusement park attracted controversy by operating on Sundays in defiance of the law. Although illegal, the $50 fine was much less than what the park would bring in on a Sunday. In 1908, the park was acquired by the Connecticut Fair Association, which ran it until its closure in 1910.^[17][18]

In 1908, the first Connecticut Fair was held at the park. In 1910, Welch sold Charter Oak Park for $175,000 in order to fund a more elaborate fair.^[19] The 1911 fair saw President William Howard Taft attend some of the day's Grand Circuit races and deliver a speech.^[20] The following year presidential candidates Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt and Governor Simeon E. Baldwin spoke at the fair.^[21] In 1929, the Connecticut State Fair, which had never been financially successful, was canceled. The Grand Circuit races were held that August instead of during Labor Day week when the fair was held.^[22]

In 1931, Chase National Bank took possession of the property.^[3] In 1937, Pratt & Whitney purchased Charter Oak Park in order to construct a new factory there.^[23] The track buildings were torn down that year and Pratt & Whitney moved into their new factory in 1939.^[24][25]