An Exciting Display: Non-Agricultural Attraction at the Fair
Children were likely not excited about the fair's events in its early days; however, when the budget expanded to include extra events and attractions, carnival rides like this carousel became integral to the young fair experience.
Horse racing has been an important fair exhibition from an early point in the life of the fair. More than just a high-energy display, racing was a way to put the results of horse breeding and training methods on display.
Car derbies were and are valued traditions of the fair experience. The grand stand, as it had with all County Affair events, has the been the key facilitator of such tradition.
This is a unique example of the kinds of non-agricultural exhibits held at the fair. Such exhibits were crucial to the fiscal life of the fair- it was the link that brought agriculturalists and agricultural lay people into one place at one time to enjoy the efforts of farming advancement.
Across the United States, the economic landscape began to change around the late-nineteenth century. Careers were becoming more varied, and agriculture was no longer an interest to as many people. As a result, the addition of nonagricultural attractions was a way to keep funding the events and bring members of different vocations together.1
While the Wayne County Agricultural Society received county funding to put the fair on, these monies could not support the inevitable expansion of the fair.2 As a result, non-agricultural exhibitions have been instrumental to the success of the fair, enticing non-farmers in surrounding communities to gather. The fair at its birth supported nothing but agricultural exhibitions. However, with the addition of entertainment-focused features, more community members were driven to attend. As such, the Wayne County Fair has seen some rather extraordinary spectacles, including auto daredevils, rodeo shows, marching bands, and even ostrich races!3
1 Leslie Prosterman, Ordinary Life, Festival Days: Aesthetics in the Midwestern County Fair (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995), 64-5.
2 “County Fair Successful From Start, 100 Years Ago,” The Wooster Daily Record, September 6, 1949, 2.
3 Rules and Regulations of the One Hundred-sixth Annual Wayne County Fair: Premium List, September 13, 1955.