"At the state fair, we're all children at heart, wide-eyed and eager."
There's something about a good old-fashioned county fair that just seems so happy and rousing. Children exhibiting their animals; mothers bringing their favorite recipes for judging; and fathers often engaging in contests with their draft animals.
Here in North Carolina, an annual 10-day event has just concluded. In addition to everything-fried-on-a-stick, the midway, crafts, and 4-H judging, each day has a theme...Senior Citizens Day, Military Day, and Feed the Hungry Day among others.
The history of the state fair in the U.S. dates to 1841 when the first gathering was organized in Syracuse, New York.
However, the concept of the "county fair", organized by an agricultural society, was initiated by Elkanah Watson, a New England farmer. In September 1811, he organized an event (known then as a Cattle Show) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. (Side note: Now, I was born and raised in Pittsfield, and I never knew this fact until now!!!) It was not a market, but it was more than just an exhibit of animals -- it was a competition, with prize money ($70) paid for the best oxen, cattle, swine, and sheep.
By 1819, most counties in New England had organized their own agricultural societies and the movement was spreading into other states. As it grew, the activities and exhibits began to reflect wider interests and were no longer limited to agricultural related endeavors. Especially in the West.
The backbone of the fair -- competitions between gardeners, cooks, quilters, and seamstresses -- has always remained a big draw. Other competitions included livestock, crops, rodeos, and pie eating contests.
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In the West, horse races were early attractions. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, as transportation styles changed, hot-air balloons were exhibited with parachutists jumping from them as an added attraction.
The introduction of the automobile during the same period soon brought car racing to fairs. Carnivals -- including merry-go-rounds powered by live horses -- became a popular attraction.
In the 1880s, a week-long state fair could draw hundreds of people from the outlying areas. Visitors filled the hotels and boarding houses, and some camped outside to save money.
The fair offered farms a view of new agricultural techniques and machinery. Farm equipment manufacturers fought for gold medals, while displaying reapers, harrows, cultivator drills, and irrigation devices. One account described steam tractors displayed at the 1868 fair as "smoking monsters that threw scares into rearing horses."
There were also more whimsical displays: a 73-pound, seven-foot-long beet, blocks of ice containing frozen mountain trout, and bouquets of flowers. By the early 1890s, the budget for a fair's prizes was more than $47,000!
Before the modern midway, the fairs featured pony rides, bicycle races, and hot-air balloon rides. The third evening of the fair was a traditional day for everyone to dress up and parade through the Pavilion, entertaining themselves simply by seeing and being seen.
More controversially, gambling became common in the 1870s and 1880s. Horse racing was one of the largest draws at the fair, and fair personnel devoted enormous energy on building racetracks and stables. In 1890, horse race winners received almost twice as much as all fair exhibits combined.
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While some argued gambling was immoral and harmful to children, the fair officials stated they encouraged the breeding of fast, strong horses. Rural farmers argued the horse racing permitted too much drinking and bad behavior, catering to the breeders, rather than the broader rural population.
Whether in small towns, large counties, or major cities, fairs provided farm families the opportunity to take time away from the day-to-day of their farm-based lives to provide "a crackling good time for all."
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