History

NORTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR HISTORY

The first State Fair was founded in October, 1853 by the State Agricultural Society. One of the earliest resolutions approved was that the Society sponsor a cattle show and an exhibition of domestic manufacturers. It was planned to offer premiums to farmers who developed better practices for crop improvement, or designed and built more effective implements. Immediately plans were underway toward the first State Fair to spread constructive agricultural information.

The site for the first fair was a 16-acre tract about 10 blocks east of the Capitol in Raleigh. In the Raleigh Register, the city s weekly newspaper, a week before the big event ". . . the entrance fee at the gate will be 25 cents for a single person, and $1 for a carriage; and 50 cents for a buggy." The City of Raleigh contributed $25.00 toward the fair and receipts amounted to $3,000. Estimated attendance was four to six thousand. It was highly successful. An editorial appearing in the Raleigh Register Sunday morning October 22, 1853 , allowed that:

"Nearly every section of the State, and every industrial pursuit within its borders, were represented. The East sent its fine staples and its blooded stock, the West its splendid cattle and its rich minerals. The farmer poured in his agricultural products, the mechanic brought forward splendid specimens of his skill, the native artist exhibited the productions of his pen or his pencil, and the ladies of the State, never behind in any good work or beneficient object crowned the excellence of the whole with the multiplied beauties which nature had yielded to their culture, and the varied and tasteful attractions which had sprung their handicraft."

The fair was moved in 1873 to what was then described as a "55 acre broom sage field comprising an eminence known as Cook's Hill on Hillsboro Road some 300 yards from the N.C. and Augusta Air Line Railroad, one and one-quarter miles west of the city limits of Raleigh." This is now a residential and business district across from the campus of N.C. State University. The Raleigh Little Theatre now occupies the site.

The Agricultural Society developed these grounds at a cost of more than $50,000. The buildings consisted of a three-story octagon-shaped exhibit hall, 250 feet long and 44 feet deep. There were two wings designed as Farmers and Mechanics Halls. A 200 x 44 foot shed housed the machinery display and a three-story grandstand, judges stand and one-half mile of railroad tracks completed the permanent structures. The offices and dressing rooms were on the first floor of the grandstand. The second deck was the spectators area, and the third floor was called "Tete-a-Tete Hall where one could enjoy a chair and privacy for an extra 25 cents.

By 1885 the Agricultural Society's show and exhibition had become the main annual event among rural Tar Heels.

Politics and reunions were a big part of the fair in 1903. Confederate veterans gathered at the fair and reminisced the big battles and hard times of 65 and 66.

President Theodore Roosevelt spoke to fairgoers in 1905 and was followed in 1907 by WilIiam Jennings Bryan. Speech-making was another major attraction of early fairs. Bryan, the famed "silver-tongued" orator, had already delivered his famous cross of gold speech and lost two elections. His address to North Carolinians undoubtedly was part of his third unsuccessful race presidency. The Agricultural Society conducted the State Fair for 73 years. It was discontinued from 1860 through 1866 during the Civil War and Reconstruction period, and in 1918 during World War I and influenza epidemic. The fair yielded in 1884 to a monthlong "North Carolina Exposition" held on the fairgrounds.

In 1924 the society requested aid from the state and City of Raleigh. The first State Fair Board was appointed by Governor McLean in 1925 with representatives from the State, City and Agricultural Society. After this, the society disbanded. There was no State Fair in 1926 and I927. The late Governor J. MelvilIe Broughton succeeded in convincing the Legislature to designate 200 acres of land to the State Fair. Thus, the State Fair moved in 1928 to its present site with additional land granted in 1952 .

The State Fair was placed under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture in 1930. The various committees continued to operate the fair until 1933 when the Board of Agriculture leased the fair to George Hamid for operation on a commercial basis.

The late Governor W. Kerr Scott returned the State Fair to the management of the Department of Agriculture in 1937 when he took office as commissioner of agriculture. That year in excess of $12,000 was paid out in educational exhibitor premiums, and by 1948 this figure had reached more than $70,000. Currently the figure exceeds $240,000.

Dr. J.S. Dorton of Shelby was appointed manager of the new State Fair, Division of the Department of Agriculture, in 1937. Immediately the fair was no longer a burden and showed a profit of over $8,000. The profits have increased yearly and have been turned back into improvements for buildings and grounds.

It was in 1948 when entertainment became a big part of the State Fair. James E. Strates Shows has been a regular feature since that time and during this same year Bascom Lamar Lunsford brought the first Folk Festival, a feature that is still going strong. The N.C. General Assembly approved funds in the late 40's for construction of a year-round facility to serve agriculture, industry, commerce and the general welfare of the state. This center for educational, inspirational and recreational events was completed in 1952 and named the J.S. Dorton Arena. The arena's s unique architectural design won it acclaim as one of the significant structures of recent times.

Dr. Dorton died in 1961 and state Agriculture Commissioner L.Y. Ballentine assumed his duties until his death in 1964. It was in 1961 that the fair operated six days for the first time. Robert W. Shoffner, an assistant manager of the fair from 1947 to 1960 was appointed by James A. Graham to complete production of the '64 fair. Arthur K. Pitzer was named permanent manager in January, 1965 by Commissioner Graham.

Under guidance of Graham, the N.C. Board of Agriculture, Pitzer's management and experienced staff the fair has continued to grow and today is considered one of the leading agricultural, industrial and educational fairs in the nation. In 1968 the Board of Agriculture approved extending the fair's length to nine days beginning in 1969. This set the stage for the 1970 s, which was to be a decade of significant growth.

Four new structures were completed: The Gov. Kerr Scott Building (1972), Crafts Pavilion (1974), Livestock Building (1975) and Forestry Resources Center (1976). An ambitious grounds improvement program of landscaping, paving, curbing and guttering was implemented. Work was also begun on Heritage Circle, an area near the fairgrounds lake set aside to highlight cultural history of the state. One of the first Heritage Circle projects was an authentic 18th century school house donated in 1975.

A program of popular special exhibits was inaugurated. In 1972 the fair sponsored the world's largest space-related educational exhibit which was viewed by an estimated 250,000 people. A series of exhibits highlighting different N.C. field commodities each year stirred new interest and pride in the state's agricultural tradition, particularly among the non-farming public.

Several programs motivated in part by economic concerns of fairgoers were also initiated. In 1970 senior citizens were admitted to the fair free of charge. The same year the Century Farm Families program was launched.

Efforts to speak to the wishes of the fairgoers paid off handsomely at the gate. Attendance averaged 570,000 in the 1970 s. In 1976 the nine-day event, highlighted with a visit by President Gerald Ford, was attended by 587,000 despite several days of cold and rain. An all-time attendance mark of more than 705,002 was set in 1987.

The State Fair and grounds operate on a year-round basis. There are 57 permanent employees, 31 of which are maintenance personnel.

Non-fairtime utilization of buildings and grounds increased dramatically in the 1970 s as new sales initiatives by management and a complex of new facilities consisting of the Kerr Scott Building (exhibit hall), the Jim Holshouser Building (crafts pavilion) and Jim Graham Building (livestock pavilion) made the fairgrounds an active center for entertainment, meetings, expositions and agriculture shows.

The 1978 North Carolina Legislature authorized funds used by the fair to purchase an additional 144 acres of land adjacent to the grounds. The acquisition brought the fairgrounds to 344 total acres.

President George Herbert Walker Bush addressed fairgoers on October 21, 1992.

In 1983, Sam G. Rand was named fair manager succeeding Art Pitzer who retired. A new horse facility (Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr. Horse Complex) was opened, housing up to 900 head of horses.

During the years 1984-1993, the following improvements were made: New restroom facilities at Gate 8 and at the Grandstand; Underground electrical distribution system installed; Refurbishing of permanent lunchstands; New handicapped restrooms in Dorton Arena; Handicapped parking on fairgrounds; New roof on Scott Building, Graham Building, Dorton Arena, Holshouser Building, Education & Commercial Building; New roof and seats in Grandstand; Remodeling Hobby & Crafts Building; Remodeling L.R. Harrill Youth Center; Paving midway area and other parking lots; New outdoor public address system; New storm drainage system; Landscaping around Scott Building, Holshouser Building, Commercial & Education Building; New box seats in Hunt Horse Complex and new offices and restaurant addition to Hunt Horse Complex. Renovation of Sam G. Rand Grandstand racetrack to include harness racing; Demolished Industrial and Poultry Buildings.

On September 14, 1996, President William J. Clinton visited the fairgrounds to address the National Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Department of Transportation workers who were using the fairgrounds as an emergency staging area to clean up the disaster caused by Hurricane Fran.

In 1997, Wesley V. Wyatt was named Fair Manager following the death of Sam Rand.

The fair celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Folk Festival, and invited back many of the winners of the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Trophy for encore performances at the Folk Festival. The Strates Shows celebrated their 50th anniversary at the N.C. State Fair.

$1.5 million in renovations and improvements to the Commercial and Education Buildings were completed in early 1999. Additional renovations were made at the L.R. Harrill Center dining hall and dormitories. A paving project covered many of the dirt roads between the barns at the Hunt Horse Complex, and restrooms in those stall buildings were renovated as well.

A landmark for past generations of fair visitors, the waterfall, was completed prior to the 1999 State Fair. It was dedicated in memory of Commissioner Graham's wife, Helen Kirk Graham, on October 14, 1999.

Attendance, almost perfect weather, and special celebrations made 2000 a record year for the N. C. State Fair. The State Fair posted record attendance with 846,724 attendees passing through the gates during the 10 day period. More than 2.2 million visitors attended 372 events at the fairgrounds during the year, with 1,622 use days during the fiscal year 1999 - 2000.

Following Commissioner Graham's retirement, Meg Scott Phipps of Alamance County took office in January, 2001. In 2001, the Fair celebrated the 50th anniversary of Dorton Arena.