This year The Henry County Fair runs from June 24-29th and
will celebrate it's 155th anniversary, making it one of the oldest fairs in
Illinois. Think about it 1859...before the automobile, the Civil War and even
blogs! Every county fair has its
history, but I will to talk about the history of county fairs in general. My
source comes from the Encyclopedia of Chicago.
In the United States, county fairs first started out in the
early 1800's as a way to promote modern farming to the local people (County
Fairs, 2005). So the original county fair resembled a modern day trade show.
The first fairs in the United States started out in bigger cities and
eventually moved to smaller towns, events at these fairs included plowing
contests, livestock judging and exhibits on how to use new farming techniques
and equipment. In the 1900's 4-H was organized to encourage younger children to
get involved in county fairs. As time went on, other events of entertainment
such as horse racing, bicycle races and
other forms of entertainment were added to the program. Firework displays soon
replace evening lectures and other forms of agriculture education. While some
fairs are still around, other have had to discontinue because financial
difficulties of maintaining the land and the expense of obtaining world-class
entertainment (County Fairs, 2005).
Fortunately the Henry
County Fair has a dedicated group of individuals who volunteer and work hard to
preserve the meaning of the fair and keep it running smoothly for everyone to
enjoy.
Sources
County Fairs. The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago.
Copyright 2005. Date Retrieved 9 Mar 2014.
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/345.html
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