Published: May 6, 2011 11:26 am ET

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According to a report, a 100-year-old barn with direct ties to harness racing in the 1930s burned to the ground during the morning of Wednesday, May 4.

An article by the Hartford Courant states that fire ripped through the Middleton, Connecticut barn, located on 166 Prout Hill Road, just north of Crystal Lake. The area was once a hotbed of harness racing.

"There was a huge bandstand and people came from all over to see the races at Crystal Lake," said 70-year-old barn owner Diana Dixey, who has lived on the farm since she was a little girl. "This place was hopping."

The barn had previously been owned by James H. Porteous, who had kept his racehorses in the barn under the banner Valoco Stables.

(With files from the Hartford Courant)