Wayne County Fair has long, sometimes unusual history

Editor’s note: This is the last of a three-part series on the history of the Wayne County Fair, celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.

This year marks the 175th anniversary of the first Wayne County Fair, and over 80% of these have been held at the current fairgrounds on the western edge of Wooster.

The first Wayne County Fair was conducted in 1850, but for nearly 40 years including six when no fair was held, it struggled to find its footing, both financially and with the public.

In August 1886, 78 people contributed $5 per share to form the Wooster Driving Park Association, whose goal was to have a local track on which to race horses. In September of the same year, this group became the Wayne County Agricultural Society, and a month later the much-anticipated race track was built on 22 acres of leased land at the corner of West Liberty and West Larwill streets.

On Oct. 4, 1887, the Wayne County Fair opened, and over the ensuing 136 years, it grew and evolved and was held annually, with the exception of 1952 when there was a polio epidemic.

The 1894 fair featured a man launched into thin air by a cannon before parachuting safely to ground and another who got out of a balloon, boarded a glider and then piloted it to the ground. Ticket sales were so great the society paid off all debt.

In 1900 the old grandstand was replaced with one on the north side of the track. The next year the midway included a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round. In 1908 mule races delighted fair-goers.

Two new buildings — a hog barn and the iconic agricultural hall, aka the Rotunda — were added in 1912, the year the fair was bumped back to October due to flooding. Between 1916 and 1923, the society built two educational halls, the version on the grounds today coming in 1920, as well as the draft horse barn, two cattle barns and the Colosseum.

The 1928 fair was a four-day event and included the first Horse Pulling Contest.

Perhaps the most important growth factor for the Wayne County Fair was the official formation of the junior fair in 1932, which continues to this day. The junior fair is a fair within a fair, focusing on the talents and achievements of youngsters from various 4-H or FFA organizations from around the county.

In 1935 after the grandstand was condemned by the state fire marshal and razed, a levy was passed by a comfortable margin, despite The Great Depression, and the grandstand we have today opened with the 1936 fair, along with a new dining hall.

In the 1940 decade, national and regional radio show troupes often entertained fair patrons. One was the WLS Barn Dance in 1941. During the 1949 centennial fair, school students presented a Wayne County History Pageant.

The 1950s saw the rise of television. With it came television-inspired fair entertainment. Celebrity hypnotists like Franz Polgar and Priscilla Holbrook performed and mesmerized the audience. The first local stock tractor pull was held at the 1957 fair. The Commercial Building was constructed in 1959.

Big-name musical acts at the grandstand started around 1960, with the ‘60s acts including Grand Ole Opry stars Minnie Pearl and Grandpa Jones and other stars like Neal Sedaka, Porter Wagoner and Kitty Wells.

The 1970s proved to be important in the development of the fair. One of the most popular events at the fair is the demolition derby, first conducted as part of the 1970 fair. Initially, it was held on Wednesday, but it was moved to the final night because of all the scrap metal left behind. It continues to the present time and remains popular while the ‘70s stage included acts like Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, the Guy Lombardo Band, Pete Fountain and Marty Robbins.

The State Sanctioned Super Stock & Modified Tractor Pull, the opening entertainment of the fair, began as part of the 1981 fair. The covered bridge crossing Christmas Run was built after the old bridge collapsed under the weight of a garbage truck in 1983. The 1980s had solid entertainment at the fair, with stars like Tammy Wynette, Roger Miller, Conway Twitty, Ronnie Milsap, the Osmond Brothers, Glenn Campbell, Randy Travis, Roy Clark and Reba McIntire.

The 1990s were rather uneventful for the Wayne County Fair, but the grandstand crowd of 1993 did get to witness Sheriff Loran Alexander kiss a pig for charity. On stage were Steve Wariner, Charlie Daniels, Kathy Mattea, Diamond Rio, Sha Na Na, Toby Keith, the Lettermen, the Grass Roots and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Of course the 2000 decade is permanently marred by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Brad Paisley was set to perform that evening, but with all domestic aircraft grounded, he could not make it. Sawyer Brown, which happened to be in Cleveland at the time, filled in. That same year junior fair kids donated proceeds from the livestock sale to the American Red Cross. Paisley performed at the 2002 fair.

Have you ever asked yourself if the Wayne County Fair was ever held in another county? Well, in 2018 Hurricane Gordon remnants swept into Ohio, right at fair time. The hog barn was extremely vulnerable because it was in the flood plain, and the ground was already saturated from recent rains, so the decision was made to move the pigs. In one evening they were all moved to the Richland County Fairgrounds, and the junior fair for pigs was held there. The following year a new swine barn was erected well above the flood plain.

In 2019 the Wayne County Fair Event Center was dedicated. This facility provides 26,100 square feet for fair events, trade shows, conventions and concerts. The event center features a large parking lot, a serving kitchen and two loading docks.

Nearly halfway through the 2020 decade, we’ve witnessed the raising of the largest flag in Wayne County, adjacent to the event center. This flag was first raised in 2021 and is visible from the highly traveled U.S. Route 30, signaling all who pass this way to check out Wayne County and, starting Sept. 7, the 175-year-old Wayne County Fair.

“Looking Back” author Mike Franks is a local historian. He can be emailed at mlfranks@gmail.com.