Terre Haute
Postcards (256)
This is part of my history and guide to my adopted home - Terre Haute, Indiana.
Vigo County Fair Grounds
This used but unstamped postcard has the text...
The largest county fair in the Wabash Valley held annually at the Vigo county Fair Grounds, south of Terre Haute, Indiana, on U.S. 41. 4-H Fairs, USAC Auto Races, Western Horse Shows, Women's Exhibits, Harness Racing, fine Beef judging and terrific Grandstand Shows are a few of the features to be found at the Vigo County Fair Grounds.
Ektachrome Photo by Kadel
Pub. by Kadel Photographers, Terre Haute, Indiana
K-20A
94966-B
Dexter Press Inc.
The back of this card has an interesting story...
Back of the Vigo County Fair Grounds postcard
The first, left hand written text says...
Dear fan:
Hope to see you Sunday, June 16th for the U.S.A.C. Sprint Car races at the famous Terre Haute action Track. Hurtibise [sic] will be trying for this 6th straight win.
Don Smith
The right hand written text says...
This was Leonards [the addressee] gift for Father's Day
Ate at Spagetti [sic] Place in Clinton
Using a bit of detective work this card can be dated fairly accurately...
Don Smith was a well-known figure in Terre Haute. He was the chairman of the board of Terre Haute-based First Financial Corporation, a major sponsor of local short-track racing in Indiana. He was also a former promoter of the Terre Haute Action Track and founded the Sumar Racing team with Chapman S. Root which raced from 1953-1960. Jim Hurtubise's NASCAR and USAC racing career spanned the years 1957 to 1977 but his best years seem to have been from 1960 to 1964. June 16th falls on Sunday in certain years, for example, 1957, 1963, 1968, 1974 and 1985. Therefore, I think this card dates from 1963.
For around 20 years prior to 1949, the Vigo County Fair took place where the Four Cornered Race Track was, and where the Memorial Stadium is now, on east Wabash Avenue. An effort led by the Wabash Valley Fair Association raised more than $30,000 to purchase around 120 acres of farmland where the fairgrounds is today just off of Third Street (U.S.41). Following a long tradition of horse and auto racing in the city, the Terre Haute Action Track opened at the Fairgrounds (now known as Vigo County Fairgrounds, managed by the Wabash Valley Fair Association) in 1952. The first Tony Hulman Classic was held there in 1971.
Vigo County Orphan Home
This postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on January 18th, 1910, has the text...
Made expressly for S. H. Knox & Co.
Printed in Germany
I have another copy of this postcard that was posted in Terre Haute on May 22nd, 1909.
Although the postcard caption says the "Vigo County Orphan Home" its real name was Vigo County Home for Dependant Children". It was built on the site of Klatte farm and was later known as the Glenn Home and was in use from 1903 to 1979. The building now houses the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity of the Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology
Vigo County Poor House
This unused postcard has the preinted text...
Made expressly for S. H. Knox & Co.
Printed in Germany
I have other copies of this postcard, both posted in Terre Haute. One on May 14th, 1909 and the other on July 5th, 1909.
The county's original poor home was built in 1853 on Poplar Street. The building pictured on the postcard was built in 1866 on a site on Maple Avenue between 19th Street and Fruitridge Avenue. In 1925, the home housed 61 men and 26 women. In 1936, this building was demolished and a new home built. This was in turn demolished in the 1980s and the royal Oaks Healthcare Center built on the site.