Artist: Robert Wadsworth Grafton (1876–1936)
Mark Wentworth Dunham
DUNHAM, MARK WENTWORTH (1842–1899), inducted by 1920
Mark Wentworth Dunham’s Oaklawn Farm, in Wayne, Illinois, was at one time considered the largest horse breeding farm in the world. In 1870, Dunham purchased the Percheron stallion, Success, the first of hundreds of Percherons he would import from France. His ability to select the finest draft horses contributed much to the development of the breed. Dunham promoted Oaklawn—which grew to 2,000 acres, with barns for up to 800 horses—with a catalogue that featured illustrations by the famous French horse painter, Rosa Bonheur. During the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, Oaklawn became a popular destination for world’s fair visitors. Dunham’s promotion of fine draft horses contributed to the development of the American prairie as farmland, in the decades prior to the engine-driven plow.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 84