AceHistoryDesk – Today in History – August 22 falls in the midst of the state and county fair season. State and county fairs are an American pastime in the late summer and early fall—a remnant of a cross-cultural tradition rooted in ancient times.
Our state fair is a great state fair, Don’t miss it. Don’t even be late.
“State Fair.” Music by Richard Rodgers, words by Oscar Hammerstein II. Music Divisionnormal
The earliest fairs, such as the great Aztec fair that Spanish conquistadors found on the present-day site of Mexico City, were created to solve problems of distribution. Located along major trade or pilgrimage routes, fairs and festivals provided opportunities for people to demonstrate their skills and crafts, exchange ideas, and barter for goods.
Today, fairs provide opportunities for travel, entertainment, commerce, and socializing, and also play an important role in the social and economic lives of rural Americans. For urban folk, they provide a means of learning about and appreciating rural and agricultural lifestyles.
Livestock and agriculture competitions sponsored by manufacturers and agricultural societies, such as the 4-H Club, are fixtures of state and county fairs as are various other contests. Traditional homecrafts such as quilting, lacemaking, rugmaking, baking, and canning, are showcased and awarded ribbons for “best of show.”
Interviews from American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940 in the Manuscript Division, include many accounts of fair visits:
The State Fair…was the biggest social event of the year. Everybody who was anybody as well as those who were not would come from all the country round about…to exhibit…stock and products.
[Pioneer Reminiscences]. Laura Minto Irwin, interviewee; Sara B Wrenn, interviewer; Portland, Oregon, Jan. 13, 1939. American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940. Manuscript Divisionnormal
…we regarded a visit to Columbia and the State Fair then just about like you or I would look upon a visit to London or Berlin now.
[Judge J. H. Yarborough]. James Henry Yarborough, interviewee; W. W. Dixon, interviewer; Winnsboro, South Carolina, June 28, 1938. American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940. Manuscript Division
Outside exhibition halls, fairgoers sample entertainment ranging from country music to races and pie-eating contests, follow midway barkers’ calls to take in sideshows, try for prizes in game booths, and indulge in cotton candy or a ride on the ferris wheel.
Search on county fair or state fair in Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives to see more pictures of fairs. Search on those terms as well as 4-H, fair and contest, and fair and amusement for a variety of images at these events.
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