Agricultural Society Fair Grounds was a

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

ground on the west side of

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

. It served as the grounds for the Winnebago County Agricultural Society. It was used as a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

grounds by the

Rockford Forest Citys Rockford Forest Citys (officially the Forest City Club), from Rockford, Illinois was one of the first professional baseball clubs. Rockford played for one season during the National Association inaugural year of . They are not to be confused wit ...

baseball club of the National Association during the 1871 season, so it is considered a major league ballpark by those who consider the NA to have been a major league. The Forest Citys had played their home games at the Fair Grounds beginning in 1866, and continued to call it home for the 1871 season. The Forest Citys had been a strong team during their amateur / semi-professional years, but before the 1871 season began, their star pitcher

Al Spalding Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of professional baseball, and the co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised ...

had signed with the Boston Red Stockings. The Forest Citys played only 6 home games during the 1871 season, and finished in last place in the new league. The rest of their star players, including

Cap Anson Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain") and "Pop", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he played a record 27 c ...

and

Bob Addy Robert Edward Addy (February 1842 – April 9, 1910), nicknamed "The Magnet", was a Canadian right fielder and second baseman in Major League Baseball, whose professional career spanned from in the National Association to in the National Leag ...

, signed with other teams for 1872, and the Rockford Forest Citys disbanded. Contemporary and historical accounts describe the park during the 1866-1871 period as woefully inadequate for organized baseball, with trees blocking much of foul ground, and third base being uphill from the rest of the diamond. By the 1890s the property was called Fair Grounds Park and was an occasional home field for Rockford's

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

clubs. The Winnebago County Fair, after some 50 years at this location, temporarily folded in 1903 and the fairgrounds were sold to the city of Rockford. The fair was revived a few years later, moving into rural land. In modern times the old fairgrounds is neither a fairgrounds nor a ballpark, but Fairgrounds Park (as it is now spelled) still exists, as a part of the

Rockford Park District The Rockford Park District was formed in 1909 and is governed by an elected five-member board of commissioners who serve six-year terms without compensation. It is the third largest municipal park system in Illinois, serving the communities of Roc ...

. The original boundaries of the fairgrounds, as shown on contemporary maps, were Oak (now Acorn) Street (north); Pecatonica Street and Cherry Street (northeast); buildings and Horsman Street (east); Mulberry Street (south); and Kent Creek and railroad tracks (west). The current footprint of the park is somewhat smaller than it originally was, with the boundaries being the Harkins Aquatic Center and Acorn Street (north); Kilburn Avenue, buildings and Horsman Street (east); West Jefferson Street aka Business US-20 (south); and Mulberry Street, Kent Creek and railroad tracks (west). The street address now 900 West Jefferson.

References

Fairgrounds Park, Rockford
Retrieved 2011-07-22.

* ''Ballparks of North America'', Michael Benson, McFarland Publishers, 1989.

External links

Forest Citys club history
Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct sports venues in Illinois Baseball venues in Illinois Sports venues in Rockford, Illinois {{Illinois-baseball-venue-stub