Race Course Addition Walking Tour

In the mid-1850s, Edwin Robinson, president of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P) Railroad built the Ashland Racecourse with RF&P money. In June of 1860, after a contraction in the national economy, the directors of the RF&P found out that Robinson had used the company’s money without their permission. The race track folded and during the Civil War, it was used as a cavalry training ground.

At the northwest corner of Howard and S. Center streets was the “Club House Lot.” The Club House was a 14-room building that accommodated racecourse spectators and those who wished to wager on the horses and card games. It served as a hospital during the war. The racecourse property encompassed the area just south of Howard Street to Early Street and west from S. Center Street to James Street. The oval track was laid out due south and north, almost parallel to the railroad about a block west of S. Center Street.

When Randolph-Macon College moved to Ashland in 1868, the college trustees considered this property but purchased 13-acre Ashland Hotel and Mineral Well Company that was also for sale at the time. After the College passed on the property, the RF&P began subdividing the racecourse area into residential lots. The new area became known as the Race Course Addition.