Franklin Park (race track)

In 1898 the New England Society for the Suppression of Vice alleged that illegal gambling activities were taking place at Franklin Park.

[10] In 1905, the race track closed after local citizens complained about the questionable patrons that the racetrack attracted.

[4][14] In 1911 the property became an airfield and was used by pioneer aviators Harry Atwood,[15] Ruth Bancroft Law,[16] and Lincoln J.

[4] After Massachusetts legalized pari-mutuel wagering in 1934, a group of area businessmen and government officials led by Henry A.

B. Peckham, John J. Mullen, Charles Friend, Harold Dodge, Frederick Willis, William Landergan, and James E. McElroy attempted to bring horse racing back to the site.

[18] In 1940, property owner Godfrey Lowell Cabot offered the site to the United States Navy for use as the location of its main New England dirigible base.