The other night, I pulled the 1948 American Racing Manual off the shelf and began browsing through it. Back in those days, the ARM was chock-full of good information, great writing, and contained many advertisements – a far cry from the modern ARM, sadly.
As I flipped through the yellowed pages, I came across a section entitled “Thoroughbred Breeding Farms.”
“More than 1,000 Thoroughbred breeding farms are now in operation in the United States,” the opening paragraph began. “Of the forty-eight states only two, Maine and Vermont, report no farms. The amount of money invested in the breeding of thoroughbreds in the United States – in land, buildings, stallions, mares and equipment – cannot be accurately computed, but it is a tremendous sum. It ranks high among the country’s leading industries.”
I went to the section for Pennsylvania farms, and herein follows the listing of the farms in operation in 1947. As you can see, only one – Erdenheim Farm – has survived. Perhaps others still do, but under different names and ownership. Most interesting to me was the fact that Yardley contained a stud farm – Point-a-View Farm – a 200 acre operation with a training track and two stallions. If any readers know where Point-a-View was once located, and what occupies that land now, please drop me an e-mail. I would also be interested in the history (and fate) of the other farms in Pennsylvania, too.
AVONWOOD FARM – Wayne, R. D. 1; owned by Charles E. Mather II; Igino Petrondi, manager. Three mares.
BLUE STONE FARM – Paoli; 176 acres, owned by W. Ellis Johnson. Five mares; stallion, Robespierre. One-half mile training track.
CHESTERBROOK FARM – Berwyn; 730 acres, owned by Mrs. J. Packard Laird. Ten mares; stallion, Constitution. One mile turf track and four mile steeplechase course.
ERDENHEIM FARM – Chestnut Hill; 450 acres, owned by George D. Widener. Five mares. One mile training track.
FAIR ACRES – Westtown; 300 acres, owned and managed by Crawford L. Twaddell. Ten mares; stallion, Wizard’s Play.
GLENCOE FARM – Coatesville; Route 4; 350 acres, owned by Mrs. E. DuPont Weir; J. E. Ryan, manager. Six mares.
HAPPY HUNTING FARM – West Chester, R. D. 2; 170 acres, owned by Thomas McKelvey. Twenty-seven mares.
HENRY FARM – Devon; 135 acres, owned by Dr. Charles F. Henry. Twelve mares; stallion, Pasteurized. One-half mile training track.
HILDACY FARM – Media, Palmer Hill Road; 50 acres, owned and managed by Cyril G. Fox. Two mares. One-half mile turf training course.
KILTALGARTH FARM – Ambler; 103 acres, owned by Mrs. John Cadwalader; Henry Cadwalader, manager. Five mares, stallion, Modest Lad. One-half mile schooling course.
MAPLETON STUD – Malvern, R. D. 2; 171 acres, owned and managed by David Dallas O’Dell. One mile turf training track; hurdle, brush and timber courses.
POINT-A-VIEW STUD FARM – Yardley; 200 acres, owned by Joseph J. Colando, Stephen G. Colando, manager. Twelve mares; stallions, *Vejete, Heather Broom. One-half mile training track.
THORNCROFT STABLE – Paoli; 180 acres, owned by Edwin S. Dixon, Jr. Ten mares; stallion, The Clown.
VALLEY FORGE FARM – Valley Forge; 300 acres, owned by Mrs. J. R. Tindle; R. M. Tindle, manager. Four mares.
ZIMMERMAN FARM – Waynesburg, Route 2; 118 acres, owned by George L. Zimmerman; James B. Zimmerman, manager. Seven mares; stallion, Lancework.
A picture of Erdenheim Farm today.
I became curious enough because of its close vicinity to me to search on the Zimmerman Farm in Waynesburg, PA. I could not find anything on the farm but I did find information on the owner.
ReplyDeleteI first found an obit on this page for Alma Z. Garrett: http://www.genealogybuff.com/pa/pa-washington-obits38.htm It lists both of the men named above.
I found an obit for George L. Zimmerman (the link may ask for a paid subscription but there is a free preview way to see it) http://www.abqjournal.com/obits/profiles/1093694566obitsprofiles04-10-09.htm
I keep finding information on another James B Zimmerman from WV that passed away but it does not list the same relatives so I do not believe it is him.
I cannot find any farm information but when I did a search for "Route 2 Waynesburg" I did see in the search listing, the Rohanna's Golf Course. http://www.google.com/search?q=route+2+waynesburg&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Did the farm become the golfcourse? I am finding information the golf course was opened in 1956. The obit for George L. Zimmerman mentioned his love of golf. Is there a connection?
The Zimmerman name is still in Waynesburg. The mayor is Stanford Blair Zimmerman. http://www.co.greene.pa.us/secured/gc2/depts/eo/twp/waynesburg.htm
Any relation? Who knows? Thanks for prompting a history search today!
Waynesburg is big on history. I read this article not too long ago (Their local paper is also one of my local papers) Maybe learning the fate of the Zimmerman Farm can be found in a phone call or 2. http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/05-28-2010-laurie-carson-waynesburg-history
Like Holly, I was curious too, as I grew up in Greene County and my family still lives there. I’ve got my mom on the job researching there so maybe I’ll have more definitive answers for you soon.
ReplyDeleteFirst, though, the orbit Holly mentioned isn’t for the same George L. Zimmerman—that one is for his son. The one who owned the horse farm near Waynesburg is this George L. Zimmerman who died in 1964: http://www.ourfamilyhistories.com/hsdurbin/greene/XYZgreene.html
Also, there isn’t a “Route 2” per se; it’s referring to the post office’s old rural delivery route number, so that information doesn’t necessarily help narrow it down to one road.
That said, I don’t believe the Zimmerman Farm is now Rohanna’s Golf Course since the son James (or Jim) was still active with horses until his death in the mid-1990s (I’m tracking down the orbit, as I found it but didn’t save the link). Jim Zimmerman is mentioned in this May 1982 DRF article about jockey Donna Burnham who rode for him at the Greene County Fair in Waynesburg before moving on the Waterford Park and Thistledown: http://kdl.kyvl.org/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=drf1980s;cc=drf1980s;g=drf;xc=1;q1=Donna%20Burnham;rgn=full%20text;idno=drf1982050203;didno=drf1982050203;view=pdf;seq=24_6;node=drf1982050203%3A24.6;passterms=1
Boy, I remember those races at the county fair when I was a kid!
While it may not be the golf course itself, across Rolling Meadows Road from the golf course is a relatively new (late 1980s-early 1990s) housing development of upscale houses, and the road into it is called Zimmer Lane. It used to be a farm before the Rohanna family purchased it for development, and there’s still a pond there.
Another option: there’s a Zimmerman Drive in Waynesburg, which is out near the Fairgrounds, where they built the new high school in the late 1960s, so it’s possible the family could have sold off that land after George died. It’s nice and flat, and like I said, near the Fairgrounds with its racing track.
I've been to Erdenheim Farm before as a friend of mine used to work there. It's a gorgeous farm, but sadly it's slowly being turned over to developers. I think part of the farm is considered historic, so at least that won't go away. Currently there are sheep and cattle on the farm. I know there were a few retired thoroughbreds there as well who had been owned by the Dixons, but I'm not sure if they are there anymore. One name I definitely remember was Political Attack, who looked great!
ReplyDeleteAnother farm that used to have thoroughbreds was Normandy Farm in Blue Bell. I'm not sure when it actually did have racehorses, to be honest, but I'm positive they were there at some point. Now it's a hotel, restaurant, conference center and banquet facility. No live animals are present there.