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Midway Directory · By type

County and state fairs

A US fair held for a county or a whole state, usually agricultural at heart, with a midway.

A county or state fair is a US fair held for a county or a whole state, agricultural at heart, with livestock barns, exhibits, a grandstand and a midway. The county fair traces to a Pittsfield cattle show in 1810; the first official state fair was held in Syracuse, New York, in 1841.

What it is

County fairs are run by county agricultural societies or fair boards; state fairs by a state agency or board. Both judge livestock and home arts, host 4-H and FFA, and book a carnival company for the midway.

Big state fairs run two to three weeks and draw crowds in the millions; county fairs run a few days.

History, era by era

1810–1811
Elkanah Watson’s cattle show in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1810, and the Berkshire Agricultural Society he organized in 1811, set the pattern for the county fair.1
1841
The first official state fair was held in Syracuse, New York, over two days in September 1841. About 15,000 people came to hear speeches and see animals, a plowing contest and farm goods.2
1849–1852
A wheel ride stood at the New York State Fair in 1849, and the Indiana State Fair began in 1852.2
1893
After the Chicago fair’s Midway Plaisance, travelling carnivals began playing fairs; Gaskill’s company was the first organized carnival to play a state fair.34
Today
The State Fair of Texas reports about 2.25 million visitors a year and the Minnesota State Fair about 2 million; Connecticut and Rhode Island have no state fair at all.2

The midway connection

State fairs book large midways and advertise them. Indiana’s, for one, bills its midway alongside its livestock shows, harness racing and rodeo.2

Wherever people walk a row of booths, the midway is there in some form: the full kind, with rides, games of skill and food joints, or the quieter kind, with craft tables, home baking and a booth like ours. That walk, with family and friends and something to look at every few steps, is what this directory is about.

One fact worth knowing

Questions people ask

What was the first state fair?

The New York State Fair, held in Syracuse in September 1841.2

Which states have no state fair?

Connecticut and Rhode Island, though both have county and agricultural fairs.2

Sources

  1. New York State Library: Watson, Elkanah Papers. Read on · government
  2. National Conference of State Legislatures: Meet Me at the Fair. Read on · reference
  3. Doc's Midway Cookhouse (American Midway Archives): Canton Carnival Company. Read on · reference
  4. South End Historical Society: The Origins of the American Traveling Carnival. Read on · reference

Short listings from the census

Checked and sourced, but without a full page yet. Each one links to its row on its province or state page.

The Midway Mailbag

New listings as they arrive. Notes on new listings.

Running a fair, a booth or a fundraiser?

Bring the Machine to your event: sell printed reading tickets, or run the machine on a screen facing the crowd. Reading codes for booths and fundraisers.

All kinds of fairs · Midway Directory

Written by The Midway Machine. Last checked 2026-10-21.

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