Historic Tennessee State Fairgrounds

The property of the State Fairgrounds is a property rich in history, dating back to the time
before there even was a state of Tennessee or a city of Nashville. The fairgrounds are the largest and
last portion of a 640 acre tract of land belonging to an early settler, John Rains. Rains was given that
section of land by the new United States as a reward for service in the Revolutionary War, as was the
custom with soldiers of the Revolution. At that time, there was no state of Tennessee, and the area was
a part of North Carolina, inhabited only by the Native Americans.
This practice of rewarding soldiers with land for their military service ensured that the frontiers
of the new country were settled by loyal and hardy men.
Rains, originally a native of Virginia, set out with his family to claim his land grant along the
Cumberland River, and along the way met up with a group of other Revolutionary veterans led by
James Robertson. And so on that cold wintry Christmas day of 1779, Rains and his family crossed the
frozen Cumberland River along with 200 other settlers to found what would become the city of
Nashville.
While Robertson built Fort Nashboro, Rains built another blockhouse fort in the center of his
property (approximately where the public television station sits on Rains Road) that served to help
fortify the new city. Water for the Rains family came from a spring close to what is now the
Nolensville Road entrance to the State Fairgrounds.
The local natives did not take kindly to the usurpation of their land by the new settlers, and
relations were warlike for several of the early years of the community. Rains was one of the leading
defenders of the area and was often called upon by Robertson to lead raids against the natives.
Rains is credited with bringing the first herds of cattle and horses to the region, and his herds
grazed in what is now the fairgrounds along Brown’s Creek, and his crops grew on the hill overlooking
the area.
The area prospered and in 1784, the state of North Carolina incorporated the city of Nashville at
what was then known as Fort Nashboro. In 1796, after North Carolina had ceded its land to the United
States, the state of Tennessee was admitted to the union.
John Rains continued to be an outspoken and prominent citizen of Nashville living to the ripe
age of 91, dying in 1824 and is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
Rains’ property was divided among his eleven descendants, and on this property grew another
piece of Nashville history.
Before there was country music, before there was a Ryman, there was horse racing in Nashville,
and horse racing is what first put Nashville on the map.
 During the mid-to-late 1800’s there were numerous horse racing tracks scattered in and around
Nashville—at one time there were at least six in simultaneous operation in the city. But the most
famous of all was the one known as Cumberland Park, situated on the site of the current racetrack at
the fairgrounds.
But Cumberland Park was the most famous of all, at one time hosting the largest purse in the
world for horse racing. Events at Cumberland Park were reported not only nation-wide as regular
features in papers such as the New York Times, but all around the world.
But in 1904 a new era was ushered in with the advent of automobile racing at Cumberland Park.
Drivers came here from the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis and held the first automobile event at the
track. Among the drivers was legendary driver Barney Oldfield, and speeds reached an incredible 60
mph during that first race.
The automobiles continued to race, and interest in horse racing declined, in part due to the
outlawing of gambling in Tennessee in 1906. Cumberland Park, now know as the State Fairgrounds
was acquired by Davidson County in 1909.

But the next big event at the fairgrounds was not on the ground, but in the air. In June of 1910,
the U.S. Army held maneuvers and an exhibition at Cumberland Park, attended by the Secretary of the
Army.
And around 10 p.m. on the night of June 22, noted airman Charles K. Hamilton took off from
the racetrack making the first night flight in the history of aviation.
 Hamilton
was flying an
aircraft designed by
the noted Glen
Curtiss and made the
flight with a
searchlight strapped
to the bottom of his
aircraft, aimed forward. The flight lasted about 20 minutes and reached an altitude of about 600 feet
before Hamilton brought his aircraft down in the field just past the racetrack.

At the end of that week the

Nashville Board of Trade presented
Hamilton with a gold medal, encrusted with
diamonds to commemorate the event.
Another unusual event took place at
the racetrack on December 15, 1929.
There was a racehorse named John
R. Gentry who dominated the horse racing
world during 1890’s, setting a world record
for trotting horses by approaching the two-minute mile with a time of 2:00.25.
At the time of his retirement in 1900 John R. Gentry was owned by E.H. Harriman, father of
diplomat Avril Harriman, who sent Gentry to Nashville to enjoy his retirement in a special stall built
for him at the fairgrounds, along with an adjoining apartment for his long-time trainer, Sam Seay.
John R. Gentry died in 1920 at age 32—the oldest noted racehorse in the world at that time—
and was buried in the infield of the fairgrounds racetrack. Over 100 people attended the funeral,
conducted by the Reverend George Stoves and eulogized by poet laureate John Trotwood Moore.
However, automobile racing continued at the fairgrounds and in 1958, dirt track racing ended
there as the track was paved. That same year brought NASCAR sanctioning to the track, and for the
next 50 years, the fairgrounds racetrack was home to everyone who was anyone in the world of
NASCAR. Drivers there during this period included the great Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby
Allison, Coo Coo Marlin, Darrell Waltrip, Geoffery Bodine, Bill Elliot, and even country music star
Marty Robbins.
 Over the years, the fairgrounds have had ups and downs, burning to the ground in 1965, but like
a phoenix rising once again from the ashes, it has always been a place for family fun and fond
memories—the swimming pool, coliseum, the roller coaster, and of course the venerable Fair Park
which brought excitement and fun to thousands of Tennessee children. These are sacred grounds,
imbued with over 100 years of the smell of popcorn, corndogs, and sticky cotton-candy. The proud
kids from 4-H with their prize cows, chickens, pigs, and sheep and their mothers and grandmothers
with their biscuits, pies, jellies and jams. And everywhere is the smell of “agriculture”, that life-blood
of the south.
Currently the fairgrounds belong to the people of Davidson County, but it’s in danger of
becoming just another historic marker on the side of the road.
There’s been a lot of talk lately of selling off the fairgrounds and turning the land over to
developers. While this might bring some short-term profit to the county, it can never replace the
history and tradition of the fairgrounds—once that is gone, it can never come back.
At this time the Fairgrounds are very centrally located for all the residents of Davidson County
with ideal access both by public transportation and interstate connections. So far, the only proposal for
a new location is for property in Bordeaux, near the county landfill. This would be a limiting factor as
far as access to the Fairgrounds by the majority of residents. This central location is also a selling point
for non-fair events such as the Christmas show, the flea market and other events.
The Fairgrounds also currently contributes to the local businesses such as restaurants, motels,
and gas stations surrounding the property.
Surveys taken of the local residents indicate that an overwhelming majority wish the
Fairgrounds to remain right where it is, and for improvements to be made to the property.

The Fairgrounds Heritage Preservation Group is a group of concerned citizens, banded together
to foster the preservation and quality of this community resource that has been handed
down to us from past generations.

Join us by making your wishes known to the “powers that be.” If we the people write the
Mayor, the City Council, the Fair Board— even the governor and your state legislators if you wish—
then we can speak with the power of the people. Tell them that you want this property that belongs to
the people to remain intact. The only changes that need to be made are improvements. Tell them to
follow the law as it is written.
If we all stand together, we can be assured that this valuable asset remains forever the property
of the people, and will be passed along to our children and our descendants, just as it has been for the
past 100 years
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