Early Horse Racing in Kutztown
(From a 2002 article written by Brendan Strasser, PhD)
The Kutztown Area Historical Society has received a number of fine and wonderful donations for its museum at the 1892 Public School Building, but one article deserves special mention due to its rarity: an early broadside advertising “The Kutztown Races,” with three purses over three consecutive days totaling $225, with an additional Saturday sweepstakes race “run for by the Scrub Horses.” But don’t bother to wager your trifecta now: these races occurred more than 172 years ago, on 8 September 1830!
The broadside, measuring approximately 10 x 15” and printed on cotton rag paper, is the earliest printed artifact associated with Kutztown in the society’s collection. Produced by “Young, Printer, Black Horse Alley” in Philadelphia on 21 August 1830, it almost certainly antedates or is contemporary with the earliest printing in Kutztown, which dates from known examples to 1833, when Henry Hawrecht and Charles Wink published a Lutheran catechism by Rev. J. F. G. Jäger of Greenwich Township. Extant records do suggest that German-language newspaper printing occurred as early as 1829 or 1830 in Kutztown, but examples have not as yet been found to verify these claims. One would think that, had a printing press existed here in 1830, it would have been used to print this broadside, without the additional time and expense of sending the details, and transporting the completed job, to and from Philadelphia in an era well before railroad delivery, when stagecoach service into Kutztown was probably only weekly. As to the route taken, almost certainly the broadside traveled on the stage line of Montgomery Countian Samuel Hartranft, father of two-term Pennsylvania Governor John F. (1873-79), from Kutztown to Norristown by way of Boyertown, and from there into center-city Philadelphia by any of several routes--it’s gratifying to know that such a prominent local family was responsible for getting this job to the printer on schedule!
Because of the broadside’s date and because it advertises races to “commence on an elegant course near the Borough of Kutztown,” we know that it pre-dates horse racing on the grounds of the Keystone Agricultural and Horticultural Society, the original Kutztown Fairgrounds, bounded by Normal and Trexler Avenues, South Whiteoak Street, and Baldy’s Lane, established in 1870 but presumably the site of earlier Battalion Days dating back at least to 1820. In 1830, the most likely site for horse racing just outside the borough was what Ruth Bonner identifies as the George Schaeffer farm, just east of the Agway store (formerly the Crystal Bowl) in Maxatawny Township, proximate to lands owned by the Hottenstein family. This farm, according to the 1915 Centennial History of Kutztown, hosted a number of such events from the late 1820s through the early 1830s when it was the property of several sons of Philip Schaeffer, who, appropriately enough, is credited with manufacturing the first horse-powered threshing machine in Berks County. These sons included George, and afterwards a younger brother, David, who married Esther Anna Christ, a daughter of Solomon and Elisabeth (Bieber) Christ, and, in 1849, relocated to this farm, accounting for its appearance on the 1862 Bridgens’ Maxatawny Twp. map as the “Schaeffer & Christ” property. Later it was passed on to the couple’s son, James, a brother to the Rev. Nathan C. Schaeffer, later PA Superintendent of Public Instruction. A George Breyfogel was also associated with ownership at some point, though whether before or after the Schaeffers is uncertain.
Other sites associated with old-time Kutztown horse racing included the track on the land of Jacob “Daddy” Fisher (owned in 1915 by Frank Schmeck), which also stood east of the borough behind Kemp’s (formerly Levan’s) Tavern on one of two adjacent Fisher homesteads now leveled beneath the Kutztown By-Pass, back in the days when Kemp Road ran continuously from the Bowers Road along the tavern’s east side and over the rise onto Eagle Point Road. These annual races were sponsored by the Kutztown Sporting Club, the membership of which probably included locals David Fister, David Levan, Jesse Overbeck, and Christian Cupp. This broadside shows the Kutztown Sporting Club as organizers but does not specify whether the race was to occur on the Schaeffer or the Fisher farm; given the early date, the former seems more likely. Later, in the 1870s, horse racing also occurred along the Easton Road from the Roeller mansion (now the site of 147-149 East Main) to the finish line at Kemp’s Hill on the edge of what came to be known as East Kutztown. In the 20th century, of course, the “new” Kutztown Fairgrounds became famous for horse racing after its track and grandstand were constructed in 1905.
Like the society’s Jacob George rifle, tall-case clock, and several 1840s samplers, the broadside is believed to be one among only several surviving examples. We do not know of any other copies locally, but information in the 1965 Sesqui-Centennial Commemorative Book of Kutztown indicates that author Ruth Bonner examined a copy during her research. Showing only some light edge wear and toning to the paper, our copy is an excellent state of preservation. Produced using a copperplate engraving method, it exhibits meticulous detail on the horse, which is rendered in the “old style” of trotting, somewhat unrealistic and reminiscent of Currier & Ives prints. It turned up surprisingly at one of Ralph Zettlemoyer’s auctions in September 2002 and was purchased for our collection by Brendan Strasser.
Be sure to have a look at this rare link to Kutztown’s sporting past during Sunday openings of the 1892 Public School Building.
