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The first Winnebago Fair was
held back on October 10th and 11h in 1885. It was sponsored by the
Winnebago Agricultural Society.
It was
reported in the Oshkosh Courier, the newspaper of the day, that the
"exhibition of stock, agricultural products and manufactured articles is
much greater than anticipated and is in the highest degree creditable to
the farmers of the county."
At this time the fair was said to have been held in the downtown area of
Oshkosh and was reported to have even been held in different cities and
villages within the county. The Fair of 1868 was held at the site of the old
Mercy Hospital near the lake.
In 1780, the Fair was conducted by the Northern State Agricultural and
Mechanical Association. By 1872, it was conducted by the Northern State Fair
Association and was held on the 60 acres located at the north end of Jackson
Drive. In the ensuing years, building were erected. Some of these burned
down and others were demolished by the devastating tornado of 1885. Large
tents were then erected until the old buildings could be replaced.
Sometime in the early 1890's, the name of the sponsoring organization was
changed from the Northern State Fair Association to the Oshiosh Fair
Association. In 1910, the name of the organization was again changed - this
time to the Winnebago County Fair Association. This organization was
chartered in 1910 and remains as the presenting organization to this day.
In 1990, the Fair was moved from the Jackson Street location (Murdock Street
area) to it's present location on County Hwy. Y.
At some point during it's long history the date of the Fair was changed from
the months of October and September to the current month of August. This was
partly due to the cold weather and also so that area youth could enjoy the
fun and lasting memories before resuming school in September.
That's right! It was designed and created for Family Fun and the current
Board of Directors strives to continue that tradition today! |
