Bermuda Valley Farm
Schulenburg, Fayette County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Site of noted race track (50 yards N) laid out 1889 by Dr. I. E. Clark, State Senator and physician who owned this farm. Although he had planned a 1/2-mile oval track, the course he traced (free style) in his buggy measured 5/8 mile. Later it was graded, using mule-drawn "Fresnos" (old-fashioned scoops for moving earth). The track was chartered 1894 by the state for the Schulenburg Livestock and Fair Association. Famous horses ran here in its heyday. Here, too, Clark and son Harvey bred 2 of Texas' most famous horses "Orb" and "My Dandy." Cars later raced here.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1889 Dr. I. E. Clark, a state senator and physician, traced out a racetrack on his farm by driving his buggy free-style across the ground — a plan for a half-mile oval that came out at five-eighths of a mile. Graded by mule-drawn scoops and chartered in 1894 for the Schulenburg fair association, the track drew famous horses in its heyday, and Clark and his son bred two of Texas's best-known runners here. In later years, automobiles took their turn on the same course.
Why it matters
Rural racetracks and fair associations were centerpieces of community life in Gilded Age Texas, blending agriculture, sport, and local pride long before organized professional sports.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the late 1800s, Fayette County was some of the most productive farm country in Texas. Its rich soils drew settlers from many backgrounds, including large numbers of German and Czech immigrants who gave the region a distinctive culture of dance halls, singing societies, and tight-knit rural communities. Schulenburg grew up with the arrival of the railroad and became a busy market town for the surrounding farms.
In that world, horses were everything: transportation, farm power, wealth, and entertainment all at once. Rural Texans took enormous pride in their animals, and racing them was one of the great pastimes of the age. County fairs and livestock associations gave that pride an organized outlet. They combined agricultural exhibitions with the thrill of a race.
This was also an era of doctor-legislators and gentleman farmers, men who moved between medicine, politics, and agriculture without seeing them as separate worlds. Bermuda Valley Farm came out of exactly that mix.
People & events
Dr. I. E. Clark was a physician, a Texas state senator, and the owner of this farm. In 1889 he decided to lay out a racetrack. His plan was a tidy half-mile oval, but his method was delightfully informal: he drove the course in his buggy, tracing it freehand across the ground. When the loop was measured, it came to five-eighths of a mile. Rather than fuss over the difference, the course stayed at its accidental length.
The track was then graded with mule-drawn "Fresnos", horse- or mule-pulled scoops for moving earth, named for Fresno, California, where the design took shape. They were the bulldozers of their day and shaped countless roads, canals, and levees across the country. In 1894 the state chartered the track for the Schulenburg Livestock and Fair Association, turning Clark's private project into a centerpiece of community life.
Famous horses ran here in its heyday. Clark and his son Harvey were also breeders, and on this farm they raised two of the most celebrated horses in Texas history, "Orb" and "My Dandy." As the age of the horse gave way to the automobile, the course found a second life when cars took their turn racing around the same oval.
Its place in the American story
Before professional sports leagues, radio, or movies, the county fair was one of the biggest events of the year in rural America. Fair associations like the one chartered here brought farm families together to show livestock, trade news, compete, and celebrate. Horse racing was often the main attraction, and small-town tracks were where local pride was won and lost.
Bermuda Valley Farm also reflects the long American tradition of horse breeding as both a business and a passion. Breeders in places like Texas, Kentucky, and Tennessee built reputations one bloodline at a time, and a great horse could make a farm's name known well beyond its county.
The move from horses to cars on this track tells a larger story in a single location. In the early twentieth century, the United States went from horsepower to engine power, and many old horse tracks around the country were taken over by the new sport of auto racing. This course followed the same path.
If you visit
The track site is about fifty yards north of the marker. Look for the lay of the land and imagine the oval that a doctor once traced freehand from his buggy seat. Sites like this rarely keep much visible trace, so bring your imagination: crowds at the rail, dust rising from the turn, and a fair full of livestock and families nearby.
Please respect any private property around the site and enjoy the view from public areas.
Schulenburg and the surrounding Fayette County countryside make a rewarding day trip. The area is known for its Czech and German heritage, historic churches, and rolling farmland. This marker adds a lively chapter about sport and horses to a road trip through one of Texas's most characterful regions.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · I. E. Clark
- · Harvey Clark
Themes & tags
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