The First American Automobile Show circa 1900

The First American Automobile Show

THE Inter-State Fair which is held every year at Trenton, N.J., will have many new and interesting features this year.

The Fair will open September 24, and will include an exposition of automobiles and accessories and a series of automobile races. The automobile exposition will occupy 30,000 square feet in Building No. 3, which, in former years, has been devoted to exhibitions of carriages and miscellaneous exhibits. It will, undoubtedly, be one of the greatest exhibitions of horseless vehicles that have been seen in this country.

The exposition and races will be held under the direction of Mr. E. E. Schwarzkopf, a member of the Automobile Club of America.

It is announced by the management of the Fair Association that there will be no charge for spaces desired for exhibiting automobiles and their accessories, but all allotments of space must be secured on or before the 15th of July. The entries for races will close on September 1.

The opening day of the Fair will be devoted to the races, and the winner of the series will be presented with a handsome silver trophy to be known as the ” Inter-State Fair Cup.” The entrance fee for each vehicle will be $10.

Of the races there will be five events in all. The preliminary tests will be for $100 each, or a plate valued at that sum, and a ten-mile open championship race for a purse of $200.

Following is the list of the events in contemplation:

First race — Electric, 5 miles, $100 plate or cash.
Second race — Gasoline, 5 miles, $100 plate or cash.
Third race — Steam, 5 miles, $100 plate or cash.
Fourth race — Open championship, 10 miles, $200 plate or cash.
Fifth race — Open only to members of the Automobile Club of America and Automobile Club of Philadelphia, Pa., 10 miles, Inter-State Fair Cup.

The Fair Association will provide for the establishment of a charging station for electric vehicles.

The stewards of the meet and the judges of vehicles and their accessories will be constituted from members of the Automobile Club of America and the Automobile Club of Philadelphia, who will sign and present handsome diplomas to successful competitors. There is to be no race with less than three competitors, and all of the races are to be governed by the racing rules of the Automobile Club of America.

The Inter-State Fair Association of Trenton, N. J., is organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of New Jersey.

The official organization consists of a President and Vice-President, elected annually by the stockholders, and a Board of twenty-seven Directors, also elected by the stockholders for a term of three years each, nine members of the Board retiring each year. The Treasurer and Secretary are elected by the Board of Directors.

The real estate of the Association consists of 120 acres of land, situated in the township of Hamilton, Mercer County, N.J., adjoining the City of Trenton. The Fair Grounds are located directly on the main line of the New York division of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Ninety acres of the tract referred to are enclosed in the Fair Grounds proper and used for exhibition purposes. The buildings and improvements consist of an oval half-mile clay track 66 feet wide. A single-deck grandstand, 427 feet long and 60 feet deep, the seating capacity of which is 5,179, comprising 168 box seats, 1,670 folding reserved chairs and 3,341 high-backed bench seats. In addition there are provided 1,516 seats on open bleachers within the grandstand paddock.

The attendance in past years has been from 50,000 to 60,000 people daily.

There are the following exhibition buildings:

Art and ladies’ work and home and dairy products 80 x 160 feet
Merchants and trades’ display 80 x 160 feet
Poultry, pigeons and pets 72 x 100 feet
Agricultural and horticultural products 200 x 200 feet

The stabling for the live stock department is divided as follows:
140 stalls for speed horses 10 x 12 feet
160 horses for general use 10 x 15 feet
252 cattle and horned stock 10 x 12 feet
206 sheep and swine 7 x 10 feet

The exhibits will consist of 12 departments, classified as follows :

Department A. — Horses for speed.
Department B. — Horses for general use.
Department C. — Cattle.
Department D. — Sheep and Swine.
Department E. — Poultry, Pigeons and Pets.
Department F. — Merchants and Trades’ Display.
Department G. — Art and Ladies’ Fancy Work.
Department H. — Home and Dairy Products.
Department I. — Agricultural and Horticultural Products.
Department J. — Farm Machinery and Implements.
Department K. — Carriages and Vehicles.
Department L. — Automobiles and Accessories.

The Fair will be open from September 24 to September 28, inclusive.

The officers of the Association are: General Richard A. Donnelly, Rudolph V. Kuser, and Mahlon R. Margerum — President, Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.