History | Dunncountyfair2020

History of The Dunn County Fair

A Dunn County Agricultural Society formed in 1872 and a single fair was held. Fairs were then suspended for some time due to difficulty of transportation. On June 19, 1885 a new Dunn County Agricultural Society was formed when 44 farmers signed a constitution. According to a 1925 Dunn County atlas, the group requested $3,500 from the County Board of Supervisors for the purchase of 50 acres of land east of the city for the fairgrounds. Fairs were held annually except in 1916, 1917, and 1918. The “purpose of the fair was not to make a profit but to create an enterprise of the highest service bearing in mind that prudence requires a margin of safety for continuance of the life of the institution and as provision against the rainy day.”

According to a 1984 Dunn County atlas produced through the Dunn County Historical Society, the County Board of Supervisors appropriated $15,000 for purchase of the fairgrounds. In 1956, the Dunn County Agricultural Society which managed the fair called it quits. A sheriff’s auction was to be held but the Dunn County Board of Supervisors stopped the sale and declared they’d assume responsibilities for operating the fair. They appointed a three-person fair board and charged them with responsibility of conducting an annual fair. Their task was to secure a carnival and revive interest in both commercial exhibitors and junior exhibitors.

In 1970, the Dunn County Board of Supervisors charged the fair board to develop long-range program to provide year-round usage of facilities. A large multi-purpose building was suggested to be used for cattle shows, horse shows, machinery displays as well as during the fair. The Board of Supervisors expanded the fair board by adding a member-at-large and a county board member. After provision for year-round programming began, the Fair Board was directed to continue only with management of the fair and a full-time department head was hired to manage the other activities held on the fairgrounds.

In 1999. the fair board was expanded to nine members plus the fair secretary. This allowed individuals to focus on specific responsibilities associated with a particular portion of the fair. The assigned roles are Public Relations and Advertising; Junior Fair – Animal; Junior Fair Non-Animal; Open Class; Food Court and Free Stage; Commercial; Grounds, President and Entertainment. After one year, the Board of Supervisors reduced the board to seven and responsibilities were once again redistributed as follows: Grounds, Security, Grandstand, Beer Garden, and Staffing; Advertising and Promotions; Sponsors; Exhibits – Non-Animal; Exhibits – Animal; Commercial Exhibits & Community Stage; and Food Court and Free Stage.

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1910

Article in the Dunn County News

With the Dunn County Fair now in full swing with the now traditional carnival rides and grandstand attractions luring both young and old to the old fairgrounds (now the Dunn County Recreational Park), it seems appropriate to take a look at this photograph of a local fair in about 1910.

This view was taken by an unidentified photographer with a panoramic camera mounted on a tripod near the race track fence on the south side of the oval. The camera is pointing towards the east.

At the center of the photograph, looming up in the background, is the packed grandstand that was half this size in the late 1880’s. Just below the slanting sideboards of the grandstand is the cigar stand of the Anderson Brothers' Cigar Factory. A sign, not legible in newsprint, advises those men entering the grandstand to Stop here for A. B. and LaZinda Cigars."

To the left, its pointed six-sided roof rising high above the crowd, is the combination band and judges' stand. Members of the Ludington Guard Band, a unit that played each day during the usual three-day event, can be seen in this photograph crowded into the top floor waiting for their turn to perform in the afternoon's program.

Directly below them, standing on the level where the judges stood when horse racing was in progress, are a half dozen or so fair officials in charge of this particular day's activities in front of the grandstand.

It is difficult to tell just what is going on in front of the grandstand because of the dense pack of spectators shielding the action from the camera but we suspect that is was a hotly contested baseball game between two local teams that was drawing all the attention on this occasion. We'll never know for certain.

On the right is a two-story building that housed the Dunn County dining facility that catered to the fair crowd. Directly in front of this building is the tent that featured "The Jungle" where Zoma, the Snake Lady, was "Alive! Alive!" On the far right is a cluster of concession stands and games of chance and/or skill that enticed some of those attending, but judging from the scattering of people standing in the midway, just plain visiting with each other appears to be the main pastime.

In the foreground is a jumble of horse-drawn rigs with most of the horses tied up to the race track rail on the left.

There are three automobiles in this picture but the two on the left are partially hidden by the crowd so we cannot identify them too easily. We believe that the auto on the right in the foreground is a Model T Ford, a vehicle introduced on the market in 1908 that featured left-hand steering (new to Ford) and a four-cylinder, water-cooled engine that produced 20 horsepower at 1,600 rpm. Note the carbide generator on the running board that was used to supply gas for lighting the headlights.

It is interesting to note that every man visible in this picture is wearing a hat, a suit and tie, and every woman is wearing Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes and is usually wearing an elegant hat.

We must remind our readers that in those early days the fairs were held in early fall when the temperatures are far more moderate that this July heat we are now experiencing. See you at the fair!

Photograph from the Dunn County Historical Society Collection; print, research and text by John M. Russell.