The Great Danbury State Fair was established in 1869 in Danbury, Connecticut, and by the early 1900s it was the largest agricultural fair in New England. In 1949 the Great Danbury State Fair Grounds opened the nation’s first landlocked, oval, boat-racing speedway—the Aquaway—to augment its successful stock-car racing program. This flooded racecourse, which was built on the fairgrounds’ historic horseracing course, was approximately a quarter-mile long, 30-feet wide and three-feet deep, with wooden sides that leaked and constantly had to be refilled.
During the first season of racing, the fairgrounds’ management decided to eliminate the professional boat-racing drivers, as they were deemed to be “prima donnas” and too difficult to deal with. John W. Leahy, then owner of the fairgrounds, decided to hire local men as drivers and to have Harold Kohler, the Fair’s master carpenter, design and build the Fair’s own race boats; thus, the Danbury Racer was created.
Photo courtesy of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society.
These mahogany-plywood racers were 10 feet 5 inches long, had a 55-inch beam and were powered by either 44- or 48-cubic-inch inboard Crosley engines that reached speeds of 40+ mph. The first Crosleys used had block problems, so they were replaced with higher- cubic-inch cast-block engines. The racers were designated American Power Boat Association (APBA) experimental Z class boats. Though fairground employees handed down much information orally, the history of these racers was never officially recorded. Thus, the number of racers built ranges from 21 to 29, two of which were fiberglass Danbury Racers made in the H. Kohler Shop.
Opening night for racing in 1950 was Saturday, May 20. Time trials began at 11:00 a.m with six qualifying events, and the main event began at 8:30 p.m. The time trials paid $15 for first place, $10 for second place and $5 for third place. The feature races were either eight or ten laps (four or five miles), depending on the class (APBA BU or Z class). BU class outboard racers were used primarily in 1949, and the Danbury racers in 1950. Racers paid a $2 entry fee, and the pit crews paid a dollar fee. Grandstand seats for children under 5 years old were free; children under 12 were charged 50 cents and adults were charged one dollar, which included parking and a free race program.
The race posters proclaimed, “The shape of the race course forces the daredevil pilots to drive with the highest degree of skill, creating excellent competitive racing. All drivers are out to win the spectators’ favor and the purses offered by the Danbury Fair Speedways.” According to Jack Stetson, the former vice-president of the Danbury Fair, Inc., a major problem for drivers was that Danbury Racers had no clutches, so the boats were underway as soon as the engines fired. This lack of a clutch—clutch mechanisms were still scarce due to World War II rationing—made lining up the boats at the start of the race a difficult maneuver.
At the end of the 1950 season, stock car racing at the fairgrounds was gaining in popularity, but boat racing was deemed a financial failure.
The end of the 1950 season marked the end of speedboat racing at the country’s first inland watercourse. The Danbury Racers were stored indoors on the fairgrounds for almost 30 years; the engines were turned over regularly and oiled annually with Mystery Oil. On July 30, 1980, 19 speedboats with inboard Crosley engines went up for auction, according to the auction papers. The final day of the Great Danbury State Fair was October 12, 1981, and after a giant six-day auction ending on April 5, 1982, the Danbury race arena gave way to “progress” and became just a memory. Today, the former fairground is the site of the Danbury Fair Shopping Mall.
Photo courtesy of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society.
Fortunately for historical preservationists, at least 11 of the boats are estimated to still exist (eight of which are still in the New England/New York area). When seen at boat shows, they still catch the eye and capture the imagination of young and old alike, and bring back memories of Saturday night thrills at the Aquaway. John de Sousa, a member of the Bay State Woodies Chapter, owns number 38, and drew huge crowds at this year’s Hartford Boat Show at the Hartford Convention Center in Connecticut.
Note: Special thanks to John de Sousa and to the research department of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society for providing information and photos for this article. The DMHS can be reached at 203-743-5200 or visit their web site at www. danburymuseum.org.
Written by Bob Comstock. Originally published in the Summer 2010 ACBS Rudder.
Are there plans available for the The Danbury Racer?
Thank you for showing this. Racing in this area was a major event in this area back in the day. Many drivers in the Nascar circuits today are descendants from the “Race arena” days . i wish i could have witnessed a boat race there, but I was born to late. When you drive along the back side of the Danbury Mall…. there are some remains on what was there in the swamp lands.