1896-97 | Cycling Park Track | Santa Rosa
Page last updated May 27, 2026.
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Unfortunately, no photographs or illustrations of the Santa Rosa Cycling Park Track have been found.
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The Santa Rosa Wheelmen hosted a very successful bike race on May 9, 1895. The race was held on the horse racing track south east of the town, now the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.
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The San Francisco Call, April 8, 1895 article is an early reference to the upcoming race meet, which will be part of the Rose Carnival festivities.
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The Referee, April 27, 1895 item has a little more information about the race, as the day of the meet approaches.
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The Referee, May 17, 1895 article shows the Santa Rosa race to be part of a bigger picture "The California racing circuit." Santa Rosa had the honor of being the first race in the series followed by a number of other towns throughout California, including Healdsburg, and even Portland. There are also some race result highlights included.
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Note, this article also mentions the "Fabiola meet". The annual Fabiola Festival held in Oakland is often mentioned as being paired with the Rose Carnival since they are held on adjacent days and are both "floral festivals". The Fabiola Festival is quite a large festival, it raises funds for the Fabiola Hospital of Oakland.
This article from the San Francisco Call, May 10, 1895 describes the races starters and results in detail.
On the heels of such a successful race meet and with the cycling enthusiasm of the day, it's no surprise that in the summer of 1895 the Santa Rosa Wheelmen took the next steps to having their own dedicated bicycle race track.
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Each of the articles below, even though brief, have their own interesting details.
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The Fresno Expositor, July 3, 1895 has some basic information about the track but also describes the cycling enthusiasm of the day, "livery men complain that the introduction of so many wheels has badly damaged their business" and "liverymen have put in bicycles, which they are renting out."
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The Los Angeles Herald, July 22, 1895 article indicates club is so sure of the track coming together that they are planning to have a race meet included in the "national circuit to come this fall."
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The San Francisco Call, July 22, 1895 piece emphasizes that the wheelmen want to make a first-class facility, not just a track, but also "A new clubhouse, grand stand and all the conveniences."
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The Petaluma Daily Courier, September 6, 1895 article is later in the year. The Santa Rosa Wheelmen have a race date of November 6, committed to the L. A. W.
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The track is to be located at the corner of McDonald street and St. Helena avenue on property provided by Colonel McDonald "at a very cheap rate."
The Santa Rosa Wheelmen clearly have big race hosting ambitions for the second half of 1895.
The Bearings, July 27, 1895 article indicates the Santa Rosa track will host a meet that is part of the Pacific Cyclist circuit.
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The Bearings, August 8, 1895 article provides more information, specifically dates for each stopover of the circuit.
This article from the Sonoma Democrat, August 23, 1895 has a very minimal summary of the previous day's races at Wheelmen's Park. It is mainly about the next day's race to be held in Santa Rosa, which will be held at the horse track, the Santa Rosa Cycling Park will not be constructed until 1896.
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An interesting note about the horse track preparation, "Tomorrow's races will be on the mile track. The big seven-ton roller will be down from Santa Rosa this evening, and they will roll and sprinkle all night."
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The second part of the article dated August 24, provides a race day summary of the racing at the Santa Rosa horse track, despite the dateline indicating "Petaluma".
The Bearings, August 25, 1895 article also publishes the results of the Pacific Cyclist stopover in Santa Rosa.
As an aside, The Bearings, July 27, 1895 article above announces a "Pacific Cyclist circuit". 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 Wheel, August 9, 1895 lists the race sanctions (ie. permits) granted by the L. A. W. for November of 1895. Of interest are the National Circuit races in California and a race at Petaluma. The Petaluma race is not part of the National Circuit.
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The last article below from The Bearings, September 19, 1895 confirms the Santa Rosa Wheelmen still have their race on the National Circuit calendar, scheduled for November 16.
Unfortunately, the Santa Rosa Wheelmen were not able to get their bicycle racing track finished in time for the November 16 National Circuit race.
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The Bearings, October 31, 1895 article drops the hint that "Santa Rosa may be dropped."
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The Wheel, November 22, 1895 piece announces that both the San Francisco Central Park Track race and the Santa Rosa Cycling Park Track race had to be cancelled due to "no track available." The Central Park Track meet had to be cancelled because the track was demolished to make way for a circus.
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The second article from the The Wheel, November 22, 1895 - p. 562 is a cleverly worded writeup about the cancellation of the two races. It also publishes the National Circuit standings at the time.
1896
The management of the Santa Rosa Track appear to be confident their track will be ready for racing in late spring of 1896. So much so that they again, like 1895, reserve a spot on National Circuit. In 1896, the National Circuit is scheduled to start in May, which will align nicely with the annual Rose Carnival held in Santa Rosa.
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The Wheel, March 11, 1896 article describes the national scope of the Circuit, scheduled to kick off in Santa Rosa followed immediately by San Jose.
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The Sonoma Democrat, April 18, 1896 article has some detailed information about the track's construction. Swank and Morrow appear to be two key people involved in the construction process. A sprinkler system is installed so the track can be dampened, then packed down with a heavy roller "1,760 feet of 1 1/4-inch water pipe with a garden valve every fifty feet..."
The San Francisco Call, March 21, 1896 item below lists many of the personalities involved with the opening of the Santa Rosa Track. The designer of the track is Elwell, he was also the designer of the San Francisco Central Park Track.
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The Sonoma Democrat, March 28, 1896 article is the first mention of National Circuit scheduling conflict between the Santa Rosa Track and the Oakland Track. As mentioned earlier, these two towns hold annual floral carnivals on subsequent days. Santa Rosa has a race permit for April 1, May 1 and May 2. The Oakland Track has also secured a permit for May 1 as well as being the venue for the National Circuit race on May 1. The Santa Rosa Track will host the National Circuit race on May 2.
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Note, the Petaluma Track will host the "North California division meet, July 4."
With opening day for the Santa Rosa Track less than two weeks away. Here are final articles about the race.
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The Petaluma Daily Courier, April 18, 1896 indicates the track "will be completed by next Monday. The wheelmen will be able to use it on that day for the first time." That means the Santa Rosa Track will open on Monday, April 27. This will allow for racers to get familiar with the track before the first race day on Thursday, April 30.
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The San Francisco Call, April 27, 1896 puts the upcoming races in perspective. Thursday will likely be racing for the local racers. Friday will be the National Circuit kickoff race at the Oakland Track, as part of the "Fabiola floral fete." Saturday will be the National Circuit race at the Santa Rosa Track, as part of the Rosa Carnival. The National Circuit races will resume on the next Saturday, in San Jose.
Both articles below confirm the racing on April 30 was primarily for local racers with a few exceptions.
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The San Francisco Call, May 1, 1896 article has a detailed description of the day's races including the quantities of registered racers and starters.
The San Francisco Call, May 3, 1896 article is a detailed summary of the National Circuit race held at the Santa Rosa Track the day before, Saturday May 2.
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The previous day's races had to be cancelled due to rain, that left the Rose Carnival weekend with two days of racing "Thursday's racer were not very well attended and on Friday the cycle events had to be postponed on account of rain. This being the last day and the fact that the Queen and her suite attended combined with the bright sunny afternoon to make the bicycle races a great drawing card."
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It appears the Santa Rosa Wheelmen managed the event well, "The management of the bicycle races was in the hands of the Santa Rosa Wheelmen and they did their part well, everything passing off smoothly."
The Wheel, May 8, 1896 issue describes the first two races that opened the National Circuit.
The Referee, May 7, 1896 also has side-by-side articles summarizing the opening weekend of the National Circuit.
Also in The Referee, May 7, 1896 issue of the newspaper, Palmer Tires runs a full page advertisement touting the results of racers using their tires for the first weekend of the National Circuit.
The San Francisco Call, June 27, 1896 article seems to indicate the Santa Rosa Track is getting regular usage, if not for racing, at least for training for the local wheelmen.
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The management of the Santa Rosa Track, here referred to as the Santa Rosa Cycle Park, are an ambitious bunch. The Wheel, May 29, 1896 issue reflects they have obtained a sanction from the L. A. W. to host a race on Admission Day, September 9 1896.
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The Referee, August 14, 1896 hints that the Santa Rosa Wheelmen may have over reached again, late in the season "races will take place at San Jose, Stockton and, possibly, Santa Rosa."
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Indeed, there is no record of Admission Day races at the Santa Rosa Track in 1896.
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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Based on the bicycles and riders in the photograph below, the George Schelling Bicycle Shop in Santa Rosa was a popular bike shop for the local bike racing community. Check out the Velocipede Spotlight article for more of the Sonoma County cycling story, including more photographs.
1897
1897 kicks off with some big racing, early in the year for the Santa Rosa Track.
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The Fresno Weekly Expositor, February 8, 1897 article announced a Northern California racing circuit being organized. The series is sponsored by the Olympic, "the well-known cycling paper of San Francisco." This sounds very similar to the Pacific Cyclist circuit that was proposed in 1895 but never came to fruition. At the time of this article the circuit is planned to start in San Jose on February 21, then Petaluma on February 22, then "Santa Rosa, Healdsburg... in quick succession."
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The Cycling West, February 25, 1897 issue has an article dated February 13 that has more details about the stop overs of the Olympic Circuit. It appears the organizers from the Olympic are "Messrs. Shafer and Ravlin." There was a person named Ravlin involved with the 1895 Pacific Cyclist Circuit attempt. Note, at the time of this article the first race of the circuit is to be Petaluma on February 22, then the second race in Santa Rosa on February 27.
The Sonoma Democrat, February 27, 1897 article has some confusing dates in it. It's published on the day of the Olympic Circuit race at Santa Rosa. But the wording sounds like it should have been published the previous day. The article describes the contention existing among some of the famous riders, as well as a start list for the events.
The Referee, March 4, 1897 summarizes the opening race of the Olympic Circuit held at the Santa Rosa Track on February 27.
Similar to the Pacific Cyclist circuit of 1895, the Olympic circuit of 1897 was sponsored by a cycling paper based in San Francisco. Fortunately the 1897 circuit actually happened. Perhaps there is a connection between these newspapers, the last name of Ravlin is mentioned with both. No archives of the The Olympic have been found.
The Cycling West, May 27, 1897 article has a description of a race held on May 16. It doesn't appear to be a race that brought in the best racers of the country, more likely hosted for the benefit of the regional racers.
Again, another race for amateurs is described in the San Francisco Call, August 21, 1897. This article is on the day of the race, it contains the start lists, and also has some other interesting details, one of which is a complaint about the publicizing of the event "another evidence of how little attention is paid by meet promoters to advising the racing men and cyclers in general that a meet is to be held." It does mention the upcoming "meet on Admission day", September 9.
The Cycling West, September 2, 1897 article publishes the general results of the August 21 race. It also describes some cycle racing politics with the California Associated Cycling Club superseding the L. A. W. as the governing body of bicycle racing.
To cap off a great season of racing at the Santa Rosa Track, they are awarded the State Championship, which they will host on September 9.
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The Bearings, August 7, 1897 piece indicates a scheduling conflict was avoided by the "disbanding of the Garden City Cyclers."
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The Cycling West, September 16, 1897 issue has a good summary of the Championships and results. It seems the event was well attended "drew a large audience which completely filled the grand stand and enclosures."
The Cycling West, December 16, 1897 article describes the Santa Rosa Cycling Park Association to be in deep trouble for providing monetary support, beyond the allowed amounts, to amateur racers. These actions appear to have taken place in the last two races of the year. The article is a report by the Track Racing Committee of the C. A. C. C. addressed to the C. A. C. C. Board of Governors, the committee's recommendation is "that the Santa Rosa Cycle Park Association be refused further sanctions."
The Petaluma Daily Courier, October 6, 1897 article indicates a lawsuit is being brought by J. W. Swank against the Santa Rosa Cycling Park association for the amount of $206.75. In earlier articles, J. W. Swank is identified as the primary contractor involved with managing the track facility.
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The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, November 24, 1897 item advertises a Constable's Sale where the Constable "will sell all the right, title and interest of said Santa Rosa Cycling Park Association... to the highest and best bidder, to satisfy said execution and all costs." M. L. McDonald is selling the Association and settling a minor debt with the proceeds.
Location
The Santa Rosa Cycling Park is commonly known to be located at the corner of McDonald and St. Helena avenues. Note, at the time St. Helena Avenue had an east-west section. See the upper right corner of the map below. Click on the map for a larger image.
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Also note, the horse track in the lower right corner of the map is where the bicycle races of 1895 were held.
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The map is 1898 Santa Rosa, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection.
1898 Santa Rosa, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection
The red square in the map above is expanded below. The green oval is the approximate location of the Cycling Park Track. A more accurate description of the location is probably: on St. Helena Avenue, between McDonald Avenue and North Street.
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The earlier Constable's Sale article, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, November 24, 1897, provides quite a clear location of the Cycling Park Track "lots 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the same being the west 1/2 of Block 36; also all of Block 37 and 38; also lots 5 and 6 in Block 30; also lots 5 and 6 in Block 31."
1898 Santa Rosa, courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection
The illustrated map below provides a birds-eye view of 1897 Santa Rosa. The red square shows a depiction of the Cycling Park Track with the Rural Cemetery in the background.
The red square in the map above is expanded below.
Below is a current Google Map of the area (38.4525834419468, -122.70691970687086) of Pacific Avenue between McDonald Avenue and North Street.
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Note, the east-west section of St. Helena Avenue referred to on this page has since been renamed to Pacific Avenue. There still exists a north-south segment of St. Helena Avenue, a couple blocks to the east of this picture.
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.