1895-99 | Garden City Cyclers' Track | San Jose
Page last updated October 4, 2026.
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Even though track bicycle racing was in its early years, San Jose has always been in the game. The city's first track racing took place on the Agricultural Park Horse Track and would continue there through the 1890's, in a reduced amount during latter years. Then came the Julian Street Track, a temporary track, built to host the "fifth annual meet of the League of American Wheelmen, California Division" over July 4, 1890. Next was the First Street Track, hosting its inaugural race meet on September 9, 1892 and its finale on September 10, 1894.
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Even though the First Street Track still had a busy race schedule, The Bearings, February 19, 1894 article indicates "The San Jose Road Club expects to be in possession of a three-lap track, built by the street railway company of that city, in the near future." This is the first reference found to the track that would end up being the successor to the First Street Track.
The San Jose Daily Mercury, August 8, 1894 article has slightly more information about the one-third mile track to be built at Recreation Park. Again, the (San Jose) Road Club is the club involved.
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The San Jose Daily Herald, October 10, 1894 snippet indicates the Garden City Cyclers have not renewed their lease for the First Street Track property.
The San Jose Daily Herald, October 12, 1894 article celebrates that whatever contention there was between the Garden City Cyclers and the San Jose Road Club has been resolved, "...have buried the hatchet is a matter of congratulation to every lover of the sport in the Garden City."
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Previous articles indicated the new 3-lap track was to be overseen by the San Jose Road Club. But it appears that has changed, "The new track will be controlled by the Garden City Cyclers".
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The article also provides a very detailed description of the track's measurements and makeup of the racing surface.
The San Jose Daily Herald, October 18, 1894 article announces an agreement whereby the owners of Recreation Park (ie. Agricultural Park) will lease an area of the park for a bicycle track to be constructed. A second agreement between the park owners and the Garden City Cyclers indicates the club will host a fund-raising race "during the Fair Week given each year". This is a momentous agreement for San Jose, the region and the sport. The article is reprinted with slight alterations in these newspapers:
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The Referee, November 2, 1894 article clarifies that "J. H. Henry and John P. Burke of the San Jose and Santa Clara Electric Railway Company" will be the lessees and will build the track. Pictures of the track show the S. J. & S. C. R. R. CO. has two buildings across The Alameda from where the track is to be built. Maps from the time also show a "Narrow Gauge R. R." terminating in the intersection nearest the track location.
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This is much like the Goodwater Grove Track in Stockton and the Vue de l'Eau Athletic Park Track in Santa Cruz. The track in Stockton was built by the Stockton Electric Railroad Company at the end of one of their streetcar lines in order to generate ridership. The Santa Cruz Electric Railway serviced the Athletic Park and surrounding area in Santa Cruz.
The next two articles both indicate the San Jose Road Club is now looking into "remodeling" the First Street Track.
The most comprehensive document about velodrome racing in Northern California is the Masters Thesis by Tracy Ann Delphia titled A history of bicycle track racing in San Jose: the Burbank Velodrome years, 1935-1941. The research paper is available at San Jose State University - ScholarWorks.
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Although the 250 page paper focuses on the Burbank Velodrome it also provides background on velodrome racing, biographies of racers, description of the track's racing program and some broader context about the San Jose track racing history. When describing the broader context the author touches on the earlier and later tracks and velodromes in San Jose.
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The paper does have a unique comment about the ceasing of operations at the First Street Track. Indeed, no references have been found to any racing at the South First Street venue beyond 1894.
Both articles below are primarily about a Thanksgiving day meet being hosted by the San Jose Road Club at the Agricultural Park Horse Track. That web page has more details on the race. The articles below also provide insight into the new San Jose track.
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The San Jose Daily Herald, November 15, 1894 article pinpoints the location of track as "The stand and bleachers are in position, the latter occupying part of the space heretofore occupied by the stables just west of the old Park House."
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The San Jose Daily Herald, November 19, 1894 article indicates "When completed the place will be known as the Athletic Park Cycling Track."
These articles provide year-end "status updates" on the construction of the new track.
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The San Francisco Call, November 11, 1894 and San Francisco Chronicle, November 17, 1894 articles both provide some track measurements as well as indicating the expected completion date to be December 15 or "middle of December".
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The San Francisco Examiner, November 21, 1894 article indicates the construction of the track "nearly half done". It also sets very high expectations for the track, "It's bound to be the best and fastest track on earth."
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The Referee, December 27, 1894 article provides a racer's perspective, from Otto Ziegler, "will go for records on the Garden City Cyclers' new cement track".
Unfortunately "IT'S COMPLETED" does not refer to the new track but to the club rooms of the Garden City Cyclers, which sound both very functional as well as elegant.
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The second half of the San Jose Daily Herald, December 7, 1894 article contains information about the track. The construction is expected to "be completed in two weeks if the rain does not interfere with the work."
At the end of the article it indicates the San Jose Road Club has come an end and a new club will be formed.
1895
The Bearings, January 14, 1895 article mentions the Garden City Cyclers' new clubhouse as well as a short update about "Their New Three-Lap Cement Track".
The two articles below are mid-February and early March construction status updates, each containing miscellaneous other information.
The San Francisco Chronicle, March 8, 1895 article provides a very detailed description of the new track, along with a couple illustrations.
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It's interesting to note the comments about abandoning the earlier track, "The Cyclers' first track was one of four laps, situated on South First street, but they soon saw the need of constructing a first-class wheeling course, and after abandoning the old track they secured the old baseball grounds, leased additional land from the Agricultural Society and let the contract for the construction of a three-lap track at a cost in excess of $6000."
Calisphere has many items about "tracks at Agricultural Park" (or "Horticultural Park", or "Garden City Cement Track"). They contain a variety of images, some are of the horse track, which was used for bicycle races before velodromes were built. Some pictures are mis-identified, they are other velodromes in San Jose. But some are indeed the three-lap Garden City Cyclers' Track.
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Calisphere has a two items titled "Bicycle track at Agricultural Park". These images are probably the source used for the illustrations in the previous article, San Francisco Chronicle, March 8, 1895. The contributor of both pictures is History San Jose,
This is the photo used for the "Garden City Cyclers' Track - Straightaway and Curve." illustration (Calisphere item).
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This is the photo used for the "Garden City Cyclers' Track - Curve Near Entrance, West End of Track." illustration
This article from a national journal, The Bearings, March 8, 1895, draws heavily from the previous article from The San Francisco Chronicle, March 8, 1895. This article adds the "Springfield of the West" twist.
The track is finished on March 8 so says the San Jose Daily Mercury, March 9, 1895. The president of the Garden City Cyclers "broke a bottle of champagne on the track, and in a neat speech christened the course The Garden City Cyclers' Bicycle Track."
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The track will be made available for riding on March 17, at which time track records will be established. The opening day race for the track is scheduled for April 12 and 13, which will be "the grand event of the season".
The Calisphere item Velodrome at San Jose Horticultural Park, c. 1910 shows a close-up of the track surface. The date of this item may not be correct. It looks very similar to the Calisphere photos above. This photo comes from History San Jose.
The Bearings, March 11, 1895 article announces to a national readership the completion of the "Garden City Cycler's Bicycle Track." It appears the dates of the opening day race have changed to April 19 and 20.
The two articles below are about a banquet hosted by the Garden City Cyclers at the Hotel Vendome for the prominent racers visiting San Jose.
The Bearings, March 11, 1895 article contains the photograph of the "Straightaway and Curve" referenced above. It is good to correlate a date with that photograph.
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The two white buildings in the background are San Jose & Santa Clara Rail Road Co. buildings. The builders of the Garden City Cyclers' Bicycle Track were J. H. Henry and John P. Burke, president and vice-president respectively of the S. J. & S. C. R. R. Co.
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The larger set of buildings with the stacks is the Fredericksburg Brewery.
The Referee, March 21, 1895 provides more background and promotional information about the upcoming opening day event, "a big meet April 19 and 20, at which prizes worth over $2000 will be given, mostly in diamonds".
Prior to the big official opening day event scheduled for April 19 there are unofficial events held at the track for the purpose of establishing course records. The first of these unofficial events is held on March 24, 1895. On the day of the event there are some very brief summary articles.
As mentioned at the end of The Referee, March 24, 1895 article above, Jones rode a "Rambler racer" bicycle for his record setting effort. In the San Francisco Call, March 25, 1895, Rambler Bicycles would waste no time publicizing the feat.
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The day after the unofficial races are held, the local San Francisco papers have a much more detailed summary of the day's events. Note the typo in the headline of the San Francisco Call, March 25, 1895 article!
The national cycling journals have very comprehensive articles about the unofficial races held on March 24, 1895.
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In The Bearings, March 25, 1895 article there are quotes about the new track from the top racers. For instance, Eddie Bald says "I have seen and ridden on all of the best tracks but the San Jose track is the ideal."
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The Referee, March 25, 1895 article provides a detailed description of Allan Jones and his record setting ride of the previous day.
Note that both of the previous articles reference Annie Londonderry as being in attendance. Annie Londonderry is in the process of riding around the world on her bicycle. She arrived in San Francisco on March 23. The remainder of her trip is to ride across the country to New York. Her visit to San Jose and the surrounding area is nicely documented in the San Jose Daily Mercury, April 19, 1895 article.
The Bearings, March 31, 1895 article describes the excitement the new track has brought to San Jose, "THE BEARINGS' man (reporter) was somewhat startled the other day, when walking along Santa Clara Street, to see a sign in front of an at one time well-to-do livery announcing to the public that bicycles could be rented from the proprietor."
The Bearings, April 9, 1895 article points out that there is regular training happening at the track, "...every morning from 10 o'clock until 12, and from 2:30 until 5 in the afternoon. Dozens of men are training for the coming races".
The Referee, April 11, 1895 article provides valuable insight into the booming bicycle business in San Jose, "Twenty-two Dealers Handle Thirty-two Makes of Wheels".
In the week before the big opening day races a GCC racer, Oscar Osen, takes a bad fall on the Garden City Cycler's track.
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As expected it is documented locally in the San Francisco Call, April 14, 1895. However, it is also publicized as far away as the San Diego Union, April 14, 1895.
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A few days after the crash the bicycle maker of the only bike to survive the crash unscathed runs an advertisement in the San Jose Herald, April 17, 1895. The manufacturer is ARIEL bicycles located at 82 South Second Street, operated by Lew C. Black as noted in the article above.
The Referee, April 19, 1895 has a comprehensive article that proclaims the opening day "races are a great success". There is also an article about the April 20 races.
Similarly, The Bearings, April 19, 1895 has two articles about the opening day races of the Garden City Cyclers' Track in San Jose.
The Referee, April 27, 1895 article shows that a week later there is still excitement and recounting of the opening weekend of racing at the Garden City Cyclers' Track, "...pandemonium reigned, club officials hugged each other, ladies split their gloves and demolished their parasols in frantic endeavors to give vent to the excitement, and when the winner rode past the grandstand on his way to the training quarters, the ground fairly shook with the applause which greeted him."
The Los Angeles Herald, April 19, 1895 article has many interesting details including "The day was a holiday, the majority of business places closing in order that all might attend the event".
The Bearings, April 29, 1895 article describes the ongoing exuberance over the track racing scene in San Jose.
A snippet from The Bearings, April 26, 1895 indicates "The tracks at Waltham, Chicago, Louisville, Denver and San Jose are very near perfection".
The other primary bicycling club in San Jose, the San Jose Road Club, made it known in early 1895 they also wanted to promote meets at the Garden City Cyclers' Track. Earlier articles in this section describe some tension between the two San Jose bicycle clubs. The Bearings, March 11, 1895 article alludes to that as well, "It is very probable that the Cyclers will consent to them having the track, as that will be the last step toward healing the breach that has existed between these two clubs from some time past."
From the San Francisco Chronicle, April 13, 1895 article it appears the San Jose Road Club's request to hold a race at the Garden City Cyclers' Track has been rebuffed by the GCC.
The Bearings, May 17, 1895 article lays out the upcoming racing schedule for California with races scheduled for San Jose on June 1 and July 4.
Just a few days later The Bearings, May 21, 1895 article implies the SJRC has finally been granted permission to promote of meet of their own on the GCC Track.
The two advertisements below in the San Jose newspapers clarify that indeed, the SJRC is hosting a race at the GCC Track on June 1, 1895. This will be the second big event at the new track.
The San Francisco Call, June 2, 1895 article has a detailed summary of the SJRC-hosted races held the day before. Although, its description of the event, "The San Jose Road Club held an interesting bicycle race meeting", is quite a contrast to the open day events held in April.
A few days later The Bearings, June 3, 1895 article indicates a shortcoming of the SJRC-promoted race.
The third big event of 1895 to be held at the Garden City Cyclers' Track is to be the northern California Division Meet on July 4 as announced in the San Jose Daily Mercury, June 18, 1895.
The San Jose Herald, June 28, 1895 article provides an exhaustive start list for the July 4 races.
The Bearings, July 4, 1895 article provides a brief summary of the July 4, Division Meet.
Bearings, July 4, 1895
The San Jose Daily Mercury, July 5, 1895 article has a comprehensive description of the "annual race meet of the League of American Wheelmen, North California Division".
The Bearings, July 9, 1895 article has some final thoughts on the July 4 L. A. W. meet.
The San Jose Daily Mercury, July 7, 1895 article mentions two items of interest. First, "The next meet of the Garden City Cyclers upon their cement track will be an electric light event." Also, "It was discovered yesterday that a world's record had been broken at the League meet".
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However, the San Jose Daily Mercury, August 25, 1895 article indicates that "On account of the numerous meets the remainder of this year, there will probably be no electric light meets in San Jose, but it is in contemplation to give them almost monthly during the warm weather next season." This article also announces upcoming meets at the GCCs' Track on September 9 and 23, and November 5-7.
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The fourth big event of 1895 to be held at the Garden City Cyclers' Track is to be the Admission Day race on September 9. This event is included in the Pacific Cyclist circuit, to take place throughout northern California.
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The Bearings, July 27, 1895 article is an early announcement of the circuit.
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The Bearings, August 8, 1895 article provides more information, specifically dates for each stopover of the circuit.
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Eventually, these are the races that were held in northern California during this time frame.
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August 23: Wheelmen's Park Track in Petaluma - However, it was a small race and not included in the Pacific Coast circuit.
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August 24: Santa Rosa - This race was held at the horse track since Cycling Park Track was not yet built. This was the opening race of the circuit.
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August 26: Dixon - more later
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August 28: Woodland - more later
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August 29, 30, 31: Chico - more later
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September 9: Garden City Cyclers' Track in San Jose - more later
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September 10: Gilroy - more later
As an aside, the Pacific Cyclist was a San Francisco based weekly cycling newspaper published from 1894-96. It appears Pacific Cyclist was sponsoring the circuit and the paper's editor, Ravlin, was organizing the series. No archives of The Pacific Cyclist have been found.
The San Jose Herald, August 27, 1895 article provides some pre-race publicity for the upcoming Admission Day event.
The two articles below, from the local San Jose newspapers, provide the start lists for the races a few days prior to the race.
The two articles from The Bearings provide a brief race summary of the Admission Day race at the Garden City Cyclers' Track.
The San Jose Daily Mercury, September 10, 1895 article describes the parade of cycling clubs held on the morning of September 9, which preceded the races held later in the day.
The San Jose Daily Mercury, September 25, 1895 article documents the meeting for the annual election of club officers of the Garden City Cyclers.
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Of note, the outgoing president, J. B. Lamkin, provides a summary of the club's progress in the past year, such as "We failed to make arrangements for leasing our old First-street track, so our present one was built."
The fifth and final big event of 1895 to be held at the Garden City Cyclers' Track is to be the National Circuit Race in early November. The National Circuit has northern California stopovers planned for San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa.
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The Bearings, September 19, 1895 article is an early announcement of the circuit. ​
The San Francisco Call, October 4, 1895 announces plans for three days of National Circuit races in San Jose.
The Bearings articles describe a period of record-breaking trials taking place at the Garden City Cyclers' Track in the weeks leading up to the National Circuit races.
The San Jose Daily Mercury, October 24, 1895 provides a more detailed description of the record-breaking attempts taking place at the Garden City Cyclers' Track.
The Bearings, October 31, 1895 provides a refined race schedule of the National Circuit's swing through California. The stopover at the Central Park Track in San Francisco has been cancelled. The races in San Jose will be on Friday and Saturday, November 8 and 9. The stopover at Santa Rosa was also cancelled and replaced with races at Oakland.
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The San Jose Herald, November 5, 1895 advertises the upcoming National Circuit races at the Garden City Cyclers' Track.
On Friday morning, the first day of the National Circuit races, Santa Cruz Sentinel, November 8, 1895 publicized the event. This article was also rerun in the morning editions of the Humboldt Times, the San Luis Obispo Tribune and the Los Angeles Herald.
The morning edition of the local paper, San Jose Daily Mercury, November 8, 1895 article has a much more detailed preview of the day's event ahead.
The San Francisco Call, November 9, 1895 article provides a very detailed summary of "The first National circuit race meeting every held in California".
The San Jose Herald, November 9, 1895 article describes the previous day's races as "The event is the most important in bicycle affairs which has ever taken place on the coast." This article was reprinted in various forms in the Visalia Morning Delta, the Sacramento Daily Union, the Humboldt Times, the San Luis Obispo Tribune, the San Diego Union and Daily Bee and the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
The San Jose Daily Mercury, November 9, 1895 article also summarizes "The first day's racing of the National Circuit under the auspices of the Garden City Cyclers" and provides a preview of Saturday's racing.
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It's also interesting at the end of the article that on Sunday evening a "banquet at the Lamoile House will end the festivities of the meet". The racers will travel to southern California for the racers there, then "After the southern circuit they will return to San Jose and winter here, in the meantime riding for records."
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The Los Angeles Herald, November 10, 1895 article provides a summary of "the last day's national circuit races".
The San Francisco Call, November 10, 1895 article describes the previous day's racing as "the largest attendance ever seen at a bicycle meeting in California."
The Referee, November 14, 1895 articles summarize both days of National Circuit races in San Jose.
Similarly, The Bearings, November 14, 1895 articles summarize the November 8 and 9 races at the Garden City Cyclers' Track.
Humber Cycles runs a half-page advertisement in The Bearings, November 14, 1895 to publicize the success of "C. M. Murphy, mounted on a 22-pound Humber, wins the 5-mile national championship at San Jose, Cal. Saturday, November 9."
Not to be outdone by Humber, The March Bicycles runs a full-page advertisement in The Bearings, November 14, 1895 to tout the various results of racers using March bicycles in November races throughout California.
The Referee, November 14, 1895 article provides interesting inside stories about the racers during their time in San Jose for the National Circuit race days.
Again, referencing the Masters Thesis by Tracy Ann Delphia titled A history of bicycle track racing in San Jose: the Burbank Velodrome years, 1935-1941, when touching on the wider history of track racing in San Jose it does mention the Garden City Cyclers' Track.
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The research paper also provides a reference to the book Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers, first published in 1895 and again in 1896. The book's entire print history is not known. There exists a Second Edition which was reprinted in 1987 by the San Jose Historical Museum Association.
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The Delphia research paper is available at San Jose State University - ScholarWorks. ​
The book Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers provides an amazing look into life in Santa Clara County in the late 1800's. First published in 1895, the first edition sold out in 30 days. That prompted a second edition with minor updates and corrections to be issued in 1896. In 1987 the San Jose Historical Museum Association published a reprint of the 1896 second edition. The book is 300+ pages with almost 1000 photographs.
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Initially the book had two titles: Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers was printed on the outer cover, Santa Clara County and its Resources: Historical, Descriptive, Statistical: A Souvenir of the San Jose Mercury: 1895 was printed on the internal title page.
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An online copy of the 1895 first edition can be can be found on the HathiTrust Digital Library, Santa Clara County and its resources: historical, descriptive, statistical: a souvenir of the San Jose Mercury: 1895.
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Over time, due to the distinctive cover, the book began to be referred to simply as Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers.
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The 1896 second edition was reprinted in 1987, the reprint is readily available for purchase.
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers outer cover, 1895, courtesy of the Hathi Digital Library
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers internal title page, 1895, courtesy of the Hathi Digital Library
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers contains a two-plus page section titled "Cycling Interests" which addresses the social, business and recreational aspects of cycling in Santa Clara county during that period. It also has a montage of five photographs of the Garden City Cyclers' Track which are invaluable. The photos in the montage are shown separately, below.
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers "Cycling Interests" article, 1895, courtesy of the Hathi Digital Library
It is not specified which 1895 race these photos are from. Based on all the earlier articles from 1895 racing at the Garden City Cyclers' Track, the Opening Day event on April 19 and 20 was the only race with similar looking photographs.
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers "Waiting for the Pistol Shot" photo, 1895, courtesy of the Hathi Digital Library
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers "A View of the Grand Stand" photo, 1895, courtesy of the Hathi Digital Library
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers "Coming Down the Home Stretch" photo, 1895, courtesy of the Hathi Digital Library
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers "Crossing the Tape" photo, 1895, courtesy of the Hathi Digital Library
Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers "A Glimpse of the Wheels" photo, 1895, courtesy of the Hathi Digital Library
1896
LEFT OFF HERE (text AND images) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Again, referencing the Masters Thesis by Tracy Ann Delphia titled A history of bicycle track racing in San Jose: the Burbank Velodrome years, 1935-1941, when touching on the wider history of track racing in San Jose it does mention the Garden City Cyclers' Track.
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The research paper also provides a reference to the book Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers, first published in 1895 and again in 1896. The book's entire print history is not known. There exists a Second Edition which was reprinted in 1987 by the San Jose Historical Museum Association.
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The Delphia research paper is available at San Jose State University - ScholarWorks. ​
The Healdsburg Tribune, August 8, 1895 article places a call out to the Healdsburg Wheelmen to come to the "Luce's race track for the purpose of establishing club records".
The Healdsburg Tribune, August 8, 1895 article places a call out to the Healdsburg Wheelmen to come to the "Luce's race track for the purpose of establishing club records".
The articles below are about the construction of the new track at Luce's Park.
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The fifth paragraph of the San Francisco Call, April 15, 1896 article briefly mentions the "new three-lap track at Luce's Park". This means the track itself was reconstructed from a half-mile (two-lap) track in 1895 to a third-of-a-mile (three-lap) track prior to the 1896 race season. There is no further information about track width or banking.
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The Healdsburg Tribune, March 26, 1896 and Healdsburg Tribune, April 23, 1896 articles mention construction of a grandstand and other structures.
The Referee, May 7, 1896 piece shows a national cycling journal is interested in publicizing the news of new tracks.
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A couple of the articles announce the opening races of the 1896 season are to be held on "May 7 and 8, during the Healdsburg flower festival" or at "the big carnival".
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The Wheel, April 24, 1896 indicates a L. A. W. sanction is in place for May 7 and 8, 1896. Note, those race days land on a Thursday and Friday, not a Sunday, as was the preferred day for all the 1895 races.
The Healdsburg Tribune, April 30, 1896 and San Francisco Call, May 4, 1896 articles provide some pre-race publicity and information about the upcoming races at the Luce's Park Track.
Here's a brief race day announcement in the Healdsburg Tribune, May 7, 1896 about the racing to be hosted that day and the next by the Healdsburg Wheelmen.
The May 7 race meet at the Luce's Park Track is well summarized in the San Francisco Call, May 8, 1896 and Sonoma Democrat, May 9, 1896 articles.
The Referee, May 7, 1896 article also provides a very brief summary of the racing at Healdsburg.
The San Francisco Call, May 9, 1896 article describes the May 8 races at Luce's Park Track in Healdsburg.
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The Museum of Sonoma County has a very good article about Sonoma County cycling, Velocipede Spotlight: A Look Back at Cycling in Sonoma County. The article states "By the 1890s most Northern Californian races were organized by local cycling clubs. Santa Rosa and Healdsburg formed Wheelmen clubs in the 1880s, during the era of the high wheel, and Petaluma added a club in the 1890s. Competition was an important part of the Wheelmen’s activities. The Santa Rosa club built a dirt track at the end of McDonald Avenue, while the Healdsburg Wheelmen hosted races at Matheson Field. An 1896 race in Healdsburg drew an estimated 1,000 spectators."
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There is no more Luce's Park racing news found for the remainder of 1896.
Location
It's clear the track was located at Luce's Park, also referred to Matheson Park (or Field). Luce's Park is more predominant in the newspaper articles.
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However, there are no maps available that show the precise location of either park.
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From Hannah Clayborn's Bikers Become Outlaws: the Healdsburg Wheelmen historical article there is a footnote indicating the location of the park as "Matheson Park was once located on land owned by the Matheson, and later the Luce family, on the north side of Matheson St., north of First St."
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That also explains the dual references due to the succession of land ownership.
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This is an 1877 map of Healdsburg, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection, that shows the area of the park being owned by "Mrs. E. L. Mathewson", adjacent to Matheson Street and the Matheson Addition.
1877 Healdsburg, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection
This is an 1898 property map of Healdsburg, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection, that shows the area of the park has indeed transferred ownership to Nina Luce. It appears she owns 188 acres.
1898 property map of Healdsburg, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection
This 1898 map, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection, shows a couple likely locations for the Luce's Park Track.
1898 Healdsburg street map, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection
Below is a current Google Map of the area (38.612770, -122.860529), the north end of 1st street, north of Matheson Street.
Current Google Map of the area (38.612770, -122.860529), the north end of 1st street, north of Matheson Street
CHECKLIST:
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mention that there are NO PICS of this track. two illustrations though??
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make sure to doc the track specs in para, someplace.
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make sure to Note where other tracks are mentioned for CONTEXT!
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review each writeup and the archive item to make sure the details of the archive item are touched upon in the writeup
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review to make sure the Links are ALL GOOD!
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review to trim pics if necessary.
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HIDE this section.