The county fair is a rite of passage for the summer, and I can’t think of anything that is more Americana.
It harkens back to a day when counties were predominantly rural. Local farmers brought their very best calves, pigs, and chickens to be judged. Others showcased their produce or homemade goods. The presenters were usually teenagers who had tended the livestock and produce.
Along with the agricultural side of attractions is the glitzier side of the carnival midway full of rides to give you a thrill, games of skill, and all manner of deep-fried food on a stick.
Tractor pulls replaced farmers testing the strength of their draft horses in the 1920’s and demolition derbies got started because fans where infatuated by crashes during regular races.
Here are some more interesting fair facts:
- Vendors adopted deep-frying to provide a portable, self-contained food shell that eliminated the need for forks, spoons, or plates.
- In 1897, dentist and candy maker, William Morrison, created the spun-sugar machine that produced what he called “Fairy Floss”.
- George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. designed the first giant wheel for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair to demonstrate that American engineering could rival Europe’s Eiffel Tower.
- The tradition of awarding blue ribbons for first place traces its roots back to the French knighthood.
- Local county fairs served as the very first place many rural Americans encountered modern technological marvels such as electric lights and telephones.
The origin of fairs goes way back.
- Merchants from distant countries would come together, bringing native wares to trade with one another.
- The Latin word “feria,” meaning holy day, is the logical root of the word “fair”.
- During the early Christian era, the church took an active part in sponsoring fairs on feast days, and as a result, fairs came to be a source of revenue for the church.
- This evolution, which blended religion and commerce, continued over time and moved into Western Europe.
- Periodic gatherings brought together the producers of all types of commodities for barter, exchange, and, finally, outright sale.
- In 1765, the first North American fair was presented in Windsor, Nova Scotia.
- Similarly, in the not-yet formed United States, a fair was chartered in York (Pennsylvania) in 1765 and existed as a 2-day agricultural market.
- The concept of the “county fair,” organized by an agricultural society, was initiated by Elkanah Watson, a New England patriot and farmer.
When I wrote this an exhibitor at my local county fair in Claiborne County, Tennessee. So, I have been getting a first-hand view of a county fair in a small rural east Tennessee county. The local fair association has produced a well-organized fair and an excellently maintained fairgrounds.
It has all the American classics: the big attractions like the demolition derby, the attention-grabbing lights and sounds of the midway, the vast array of carny food, and the stable of American agriculture and business in the vast exhibit hall.
It’s also a great place to people watch: teenagers out on a date, the folks who don’t get many opportunities to go to town for entertainment, and families with small children who are in awe of the whole thing.
Communities need the opportunity to gather for a good party.
