(MSF) – One Big Horse Traditional Cache

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TaGeez: Clearing out

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Hidden : 7/9/2013
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

The MSF (Michigan State Fairgrounds) series of caches will focus on historical landmarks on this historic site.

The first official Michigan State Fair was held in 1849, which is claimed by the state of Michigan to be the oldest state fair in the United States. The first fair was held in Detroit, Michigan. Subsequent fairs were held in other cities until it received its permanent home in 1905 at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit. In 1904, Joseph L. Hudson, together with three of his associates, decided to give the State Fair its permanent home. They formed the State Fair Land Company, which acquired 135 acres between 7½ and 8 Mile Roads, east of Woodward Avenue. Because Hudson had no interest in running the fair, he sold the land to the Michigan State Agricultural Society for one dollar on April 18, 1905. The Agricultural Society accepted the land then purchased an additional 32 acres, extending the fairgrounds to 167 acres. The state fair ran at this site until 2009, when state funding was cut. From 2010-2013, this property remained largely unused until a new shopping plaza was installed on this site.


Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. A small horse, Seabiscuit had an inauspicious start to his racing career, but became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression.


In August 2005, a historical marker and statue of Seabiscuit were placed onsite at the Michigan State Fairgrounds (on the southeast corner of the Coliseum). The marker reads:


The January 11, 1939 San Francisco News reported that in 1938 Seabiscuit filled more newspaper space than Adolf Hitler or Fanklin Roosevelt. The legendary thoroughbred had begun his career as a mediocre racehorse, but that changed in September 1936, here, at the Detroit Fairgrounds. Ridden for the first time by a little-known jockey named Johnny "Red" Pollard, Seabiscuit won the Governor's Handicap and then the Hendrie Handicap, his first major stakes victories. Here, with new owners Charles and Marcella Howard and new trainer Tom Smith, Seabiscuit was retrained into one of the greatest racehorses of the twentieth century. Seabiscuit's rise from obscurity, above all his 1938 triumph over Triple Crown winner War Admiral, made him a national hero during the Great Depression.


According to The County Press, the Seabiscuit statue went missing shortly after the fairgrounds closed in 2009.

Please feel free to share any stories you may have of the fairgrounds in your logs!
Although this is a shiny new plaza, always be aware of your surroundings.

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