Did You Know? The Nelson Montgomery house on Old Troy Road once had race track

Did you know that the Nelson Montgomery house, located on Old Troy Road, once had a race track on the property?

Nelson Montgomery raised horses and enjoyed racing them at the old fairgrounds on St. Louis Street in Edwardsville. His daughter, Phoebe Montgomery, was known as an excellent horse woman and won several prizes. After Nelson died, Phoebe and her mother moved to a house on St. Louis Street to be close to the race track at the fairgrounds. Phoebe owned her own race horse, Joe Joker, shown in the photo here.

Both photos courtesy of the Madison County Historical Society

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Photos:

Nelson Montgomery’s farm

“Joe Joker” Phoebe Montgomery’s race horse

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