A day at the fair
A day at the fair - 150 years ago
Speaking of categories, my favorite was indeed the Domestics – manufacturing and they were judging on the best pair of blankets; ½ dozen linen towels; 10-yards of rag carpet – same for woolen; a pair of socks and a pair of mittens.
Everyone could enter as many categories as desired and there was such a large amount it was amazing. For the horses there were 51 total items including the “best, fastest and truest horse,” with 1st prize being $10 and a silver cup. Fourteen of the 51 categories were featured on mules. Cattle, poultry, sheep, swine, field crops, corn, oats, wheat, and vegetables. Fruits and Flowers featured a Fruit Grower’s Guide and $1.25 for the best bushel of apples. Roses, dahlias and others were flowers and most of them had a specific guide for the prize (Rose Guide).
Carriages and Buggies had some nice awards $8 for the best two-horse and well as open buggy and $5 for a rockaway and a one-horse buggy. The Best panel door in the Carpenters and Cabinet work was only $1 and a salt spoon (odd for a carpenter – oh, well) a window sash a silver thimble and 50 cents. The best Bureau received $2 and a cream spoon and the Dining Room table (can you imagine having to bring that to the fair and where would they put them all?) $1 and a salt spoon.
Farm implements (reaper and a mower was top prize and $6). A grass seed sower; corn planter; shovel; cultivater; and farm wagon were some of the entries.
Leather was a wagon harness; carriage harness; gentleman’s saddle/bridle; fine boots; coarse boots; men shoes and ladies’ boots. Clothing had a suit of clothes (pants and vest); a fur, silk and straw hat. Those would have been fun to see.
Tin ware’s entries were for a churn; baskets; pails; washing tub; clothes pins and broom.
Plain and Fancy Needle Work included the best suit of gentleman’s clothes made by a lady; best made ladies dress; best made gent’s shirt; case of millinery work; infants dress; child’s dress; pair gaiter boots made by a lady (with a Florist’s Guide as the prize and .50); a specimen of sewing by a girl under 12; quilting; embroidery. Interesting award committee: Mrs. Rice Canine, Mrs. JH Harrison, Mrs. Joseph Earl and perhaps a fellow to oversee them: James Hannah.
Fine arts were for painting, drawing and photography (sun pictures and job printing).
Dairy products, honey, and sugar was next. Best 10# butter – cream spoon and $2.0 Best cheese same; best honey and best maple sugar same. A Gallon of molasses salt was $1.00 (never heard of molasses salt nor the last category Chinese sugar).
In Division K, there was a special premium for the best bushel of sweet potatoes raised from plants – Silver Cup and $5 offered by John J. Darter.
Canary Birds was an interesting group – prize for the best cage and best variety of birds.
Miscellaneous articles – best – piano; rifle gun; shot gun; 100# of flour; ½ bushel of corn meal.
The judging would be in divisions (example B,C & I on day 1). Detail rules were listed in the Crawfordsville Review 12 June 1858 in order to be prepared for the September fair. Briefly: must be a member of the Agricultural Society ($1 per year) – a badge admits his entire family to the fair. All articles offered for premium had to be owned or made by that person (or family). Any animal for exhibition must be registered before entering the enclosures. Do not remove the animals until okayed by the directors. No animal can be entered for more than one premium. Judges according to registration number. If not ready at the appointed time, excluded. Only the owner of the stock, judges and officers are allowed in the ring at judging time. Competitors on crops must have the produce accurately measured and certified by two or more disinterested persons. For animals, a written statement of method of feeding and care must be placed with the committee. Articles of domestic manufacture are positively required to have been manufactured in the state since the last Fair to insure their competition. If a committee member for any competition is also in the competition, he will be replaced by a board member. Badges of membership and tickets of admission can be procured at the Fair Ground on any day of the Fair or at the Treasurers office in Crawfordsville at any time before the fair. Must be entered by 12 noon on the first day of the fair. A strong and efficient police will be on the ground day and night. Articles “must possess more than ordinary merit!”
Tickets of admission
Badges of Admission … $1.00
Single Admission … 25 cents
Children under 15 … 10 cents
Horse and rider … 40 cents
Horse and buggy … 40 cents
2 horse wagons and carriages … 50 cents
Saturday Sept 18 – Auction Sale of stock of all kinds. All owners of stock etc. from adjoining counties are invited to attend and compete. No person shall interfere with the judging. Any Exhibitor treating judges contemptuously shall not only forfeit his premium if awarded him but be excluded as a competitor.
Richard Canine, President – Frank M. Heaton, Secretary
It would be a bit much to tally all those mid-September winners but here are a few – best 4-year-old stallion, WW Yates ($10 and the silver cup); 2nd best was Jon. Hutchinson $5.00. The best trotting mare was JP Hymer ($ 5 and a silver cup). And the best, truest and fasted (3:45) trotter won by James W. Walton and same for a pacer was JP Watson (silver cup $10).
No one person was wow in the sheep but names of winners were Graves; Cochran; Quick; Yount; and Hill.
WR Parrish & Co. won for all the hats (fur, silk and straw). Tge carriages were taken by JS Miller & Co.
In the flowers, Margaret A. Cumberland best potted plants and best bouquet; Mrs. JW Cumberland best roses; Sallie Frame, best variety and OP Jennison best verbenas and dahlias. Oddly, always thought artificial flowers came in about 1920s but in 1858, Mrs. SW Austin won a thimble and 50 cents for the best collection of them. Sallie Frame also won for the best pair of blankets Peninah Chadwick the best knit stockings and mittens while Charlotte McCloud won for socks. Bell Canine won the best made ladies’ dress and David T. Powers won in child’s embroidered scarf and muslim collar.
James Heaton was good with the poultry (shanghais; brahma pootras; ducks; collection all won by him with only two other categories he didn’t overpower).
One category it would be impressive to win in according to the fair title would be Best Cultivated Farm and that was Sam Gilliland with Cornelius Britton and Toliver Larsh winning 2nd and 3rd best. Joe Earl won the best garden.
R. Dobbins from Greencastle won the best piano. And Thomas Newman won in clock, silver ware, jewelry, engraving. Oliver McCloud 100# flour.
To wrap-up the wins, the C’ville Review 25 Sept 1858 gave the number of entries – animals 262; Ag productions 45; Farm Implements just 9 and Mechanical productions 8. Needle Work 74. Fruits and Flowers 33. Fine arts 9; table comforts 47; farms and gardens 7; canary birds 3; and miscellaneous 68.
$999 were the receipts from the fair. Another notation said that if you won a book you would be receiving that within a couple of weeks, any silver you could call to get it and the Indiana Farmer winners would receive that publication for one year through the post office.
Most of my county fairs were as a youngster for three years I baked; as a parent our son didn’t want to be in 4-H and our daughter was only in a year or maybe two but I spent several years as the judge for Genealogy and did that at state fair, as well. The Montgomery County fairs seemed to be the best ran and most fair of the dozen I judged in! Way to go, keep up the great work and continue on another 150 years.
Note: Almost always a person carries away wonderful memories from the 4-H fair and here is an example from the Crawfordsville District Public Library’s image database of Billy Smith showing his three sheep in 1946. It is especially exciting to go on to State Fair and as I write this the 2022 Indiana State Fair is just winding-up! ---kbz