Watkins Glen Historic Road Course Lap

This video follows a lap around the 6.6-mile (10.6 km) road course that was home to the first Watkins Glen Grand Prix races, beginning in 1948. The course is comprised mostly of present-day state highways NY 329, NY 409, and NY 14.

The first races in Watkins Glen were organized by Cameron Argetsinger, whose family had a summer home in the area. With local Chamber of Commerce approval and SCCA sanction, the first Watkins Glen Grand Prix took place in 1948 on a 6.6-mile (10.6 km) course over local public roads. For the first few years, the races passed through the heart of the town with spectators lining the sidewalks, but after a car driven by Fred Wacker left the road in the 1952 race, killing seven-year-old Frank Fazzari and injuring several others, the race was moved to a new location on a wooded hilltop southwest of town. The original 6.6-mile (10.6 km) course is listed in the New York State register and National Register of Historic Places as the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Course, 1948–1952.

Race Course Highlights:
0:00 - Downtown Watkins Glen
0:23 - Start/Finish Line
0:45 - Old Corning Hill
1:35 - Townsend Road Corner
4:08 - School House Corner
4:40 - Stone Bridge
5:40 - Archy Smith's Corner
7:00 - Friar's Corner
8:35 - Milliken's Corner
8:50 - Downtown Watkins Glen
9:52 - Start/Finish Line

THE TOUR: Starting at the Start/Finish line on Franklin Street, drive 1/4 mile to Old Corning Hill Road, turn right, continue up the steep hill and bear to the right onto Townsend Road through White House S to School House Corner, take a sharp right downhill to cross Cornett's Stone Bridge, and continue on following the Serpentine Road to Archy Smith's Corner, turn right down the straight, over the railroad tracks leading to a mile long descent into the village, and turn right onto Franklin Street, back to the Start/Finish Line.

WHITE HOUSE "S" is located 1.3 miles from the start/finish line. It marks a series of uphill curves near where a white house stood in 1948. The house no longer exists. The name takes poetic license from White House Corner at the LeMans circuit in France.

THE COLLIER MONUMENT is located 2.3 miles from the start/finish line. It is a huge native granite boulder on which a bronze plaque bears the legend:

"Samuel Carner Collier 1912- 1950
crashed here while leading the Grand Prix 1950
Miles Collier 1914 -1954 Winner Grand Prix 1949"

SCHOOL HOUSE CORNER is located 2.7 miles from the start/finish line at the start of the dramatic, abrupt descent into the state park. On a knoll on the southwest corner is a structure that was once a one-room schoolhouse in 1948. Remodeled, it is now a private residence.

CORNETT'S STONE BRIDGE is 3 miles from the start/finish line. In the 1948 Junior Prix, Denver Cornett flipped his MG into the creek. He rolled it over, borrowed parts from his fellow competitors and was ready to race in the Grand Prix, finishing 7th.

ARCHY SMITH'S CORNER is located 3.7 miles from the start/finish line. The stucco house on the corner belonged to a dairy farmer named Archy Smith.

RAILROAD STRAIGHT is 4 miles from the start/finish line. It was a dirt road in 1948. Beyond the trees lining the road on the south side is a sheer cliff drop direct to the bottom of the Glen. Cars went at maximum speed on this stretch, braking for the bump at the rail road tracks, often resulting in an airborne vehicle.

FRIAR'S CURVE is 5 miles from the start/finish line, beginning the descent into the village. It receives its romantic name as it borders land owned by the Franciscan Brothers.

BIG BEND is 5.4 miles from the start/finish line. It offers a breathtaking view of Seneca Lake harbor. It offered a breath-taking experience for the driver with speeds exceeding maximum on the downhill descent.

MILLIKEN'S CORNER is 6.2 miles from the start/finish line. It was here, in 1948, that William Milliken of Buffalo overturned his Bugatti. He crawled out, unharmed, to the applause of spectators across the street.

START FINISH LINE - On Franklin Street accross the street from the courthouse is the marker showing the actual location of those first starts in 48 - 52.