Oregon State Fair - History

History

As Oregon agriculture expanded in the early 19th century many communities formed agricultural associations for the purpose of sharing information on farming practices and resources. These groups began to organize county fairs such as the Yamhill County Fair (1850). Shortly thereafter the Oregon Farmer newspaper began calling for a statewide fair. A group of farmers known as the Oregon Fruitgrowers Association organized the first unofficial state fair in 1858. That year is recognized as the official anniversary year of the fair.

In 1860, the association merged with other county groups and became the Oregon State Agricultural Society, who held the first official fair in 1861 in the Gladstone/Oregon City area. It was felt a larger area was needed and following a proposal by the Marion County Agriculture Society, the second official state fair was held in Salem in 1862 on the grounds of the Marion County Fair where it has remained ever since. Homesteader John Savage donated 8 acres (32,000 m2) of his land, which was three miles (5 km) outside of Salem at the time, while pioneer John Minto contributed $1,200 to build a wooden fence around the grounds. The fairgrounds were annexed into Salem in 1921.

The fair has been held every year on the same site, except in 1905, because the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition was taking place in Portland that year, and during the World War II years of 1943 and 1944; instead the fairgrounds were leased to military units as a place to bivouac. Also, although the 1942 fair was held, it was scaled back to only include 4-H displays, livestock exhibits, and displays from 27 Oregon counties, so it was not considered an official State Fair.