Welcome to the Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail

Welcome to the Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail. A Walking Trail Through Natural and Cultural History. The Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail (HOST) is located on a site whose history dates to the 17th century, when the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation resided here along the banks of the Eno River. , In the late 1700s, James Hogg, an original trustee of the University of North Carolina, and many other families settled and farmed the fertile land. Hogg's 3-home plantation was named Poplar Hill. In the 1890s, General Julian Carr (pictured, left) purchased Poplar Hill and the surrounding land and expanded the farm to include a horse racetrack. For 150+ years, this land was used for agriculture, passing through several owners. , NASCAR and automobile racing in the South originated in the early 1900s as informal competitions among bootleggers who modified their vehicles for speed and handling in rural landscapes. , In 1947, Bill France discovered the racetrack as he flew over Orange County. France partnered with Enoch Staley, Ben Lowe, Dobe Powell, and Joe Buck to form Hillsboro Speedway Inc. and fund the purchase of the 200-acre parcel that included the racetrack in order to develop it for use as an auto racetrack – the Occoneechee Speedway. , In 1949, NASCAR hosted their first race on the 1-mile dirt track – a 100-mile race with over 20,000 fans in attendance. , The track hosted many races, local athletic games, and community events over the next 20 years until 1968, with the opening of the Talladega track in Alabama taking the place of the Speedway. The final NASCAR race at the track, “The Hillsboro 150,” took place on September 15, 1968, with Richard Petty as the winner. , By 1969, racing had fallen out of political favor in the area and with the Speedway out of use, nature began to reclaim the land. , In the early 1980s, this property was threatened as a proposed location for a bypass intended to redirect traffic congestion in the area. The Preservation Fund of Hillsborough, Preservation North Carolina, and the James M. Johnston Charitable Trust, along with Classical American Homes Preservation Trust (CAHPT) worked together to preserve the natural and historic integrity of the Speedway property and surrounding land. , In 1997, CAHPT took ownership of the HOST property and in 2002 this site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2006 local racing enthusiasts formed the Historic Speedway Group to help in restoring and maintaining the site. In 2011, CAHPT joined with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) to connect HOST to the statewide trail system. , Today, CAHPT still owns and manages the HOST site, along with HOST's neighbor across the Eno River, Ayr Mount historic site.