Remembering "The Gut"

            This past year, I decided to tackle a project that I’d put on the backburner for quite some time – researching my family tree. Since my ancestors on both my maternal and paternal sides immigrated from Poland to Bayonne, N. J. around 1900, I hit the proverbial brick wall when I attempted to uncover more information before that date, due to the way surnames were misspelled upon their arrival at Ellis Island.

            To help me in my research, I became a member of the Hudson County Genealogical & Historical Society, which contains a treasure trove of information. Imagine my surprise when I opened up my first issue of its newsletter, Hudson Roots, and saw this headline: “…And they’re off!”
            Yes, the top story for that issue was about a racetrack – the now-defunct, and little-known, Guttenberg Race Track in North Bergen, N. J. While this blog is entitled “Pennsylvania Thoroughbred,” I have always found the history of New Jersey and its racing as equally as interesting, and so thought this was a good topic.
            According to the article, written by HCGS member Damian DeVirgilio, in August of 1885 the Hudson County Jockey Club, later to be known as the Guttenberg Race Track, opened in an area bounded by Kennedy Boulevard (then Hudson County Boulevard) and Bergenline Avenue, roughly facing the land which is now James J. Braddock Park.
            You can see the map of the area today here: http://mapq.st/Wufwjb
            Guttenberg was run by Gottfried Walbaum, also known as “Dutch Fred,” who partnered with Hudson County Clerk Dennis McLaughlin, John C. Carr and Nicholas Crusius.      
            The horses that competed there, the article states, were the “most miserable hacks ever collected in one place and the scandals connected with their performances made the track a byword. A Guttenberg ‘plug’ became the synonym for all that was wretched and ignoble in horseflesh.”

 

William Glackens’ oil painting “Outside the Guttenberg Race Track” from 1897.

 More from the Hudson Roots article:

            Despite the descent of its owners’ fortunes, the track itself had a lively existence over the next few decades as it passed amongst several owners. In 1897, artist William Glackens immortalized the track in his painting Outside the Guttenberg Race Track. A speeding trolley is seen along the left as a rustic carnival-like scene unfolds. Horse races occasionally still took place but without cash prices and never on the previous scale. With the passage of time, the track came to be used for a variety of purposes, such as baseball games and pigeon shooting contests. The advent of the twentieth century also brought early automobile races. Rumors of land development also began to surface. When the land passed into the hands of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Newark, an orphanage run by the Sisters of Peace was proposed in 1905. However, formal development was not to come for over a decade.

            The site was also used by those seeking a bit of immortality, but some were more successful than others. For instance, Maxey Long set a world record for the 440 yard sprint at 47 seconds on the track on Oct. 6, 1900, a record which stood for almost 16 years. Sadly, aspiring Belgian aviator Charles Frank Morok didn’t fare as well. “Diavolo” as he called himself, used the track to launch his attempt to be the first to fly across the icy Hudson River into Manhattan on Dec. 26, 1910. Unfortunately, moments after takeoff, his plane crashed into the second story of a house several blocks south, disturbing a young woman’s private bathroom time.

             In 1907, a large band of “gypsies” decided to camp on the track grounds, creating quite a stir among local officials and residents. The gypsies descended upon the streets of the surrounding towns, invading the stores and saloons, and driving the women and children into their homes.  Despite the uproar, it seems that the camp remained for several years, at least on a seasonal basis.

And finally:

            The track’s old grandstand burned down during January of 1910 in a blaze that could be seen all the way in Manhattan, but the track’s ultimate end came in 1919 when the land was formally divided into lots for auction. The track’s memory remains alive amongst some horse racing historians. However, the track’s tale is lost to the average local. As Hudson County continues to evolve, The Gut’s story reminds us that the community had been reshaping itself continuously, long before today’s modern development plans. The challenge will be to ensure that our roots and the complex stages of our growth do not dissolve into fading whispers.

If you’d like to read another well-researched article about the Guttenberg Racetrack, check out this one from “Colin’s Ghost,” which is written by Kevin Martin:

http://colinsghost.org/2010/01/winter-racing-at-new-jerseys-guttenberg-race-track-1885-1893.html