Cedar County Fair History

CEDAR COUNTY’S FIRST FAIR

There seems to be a difference of opinion as to when the first Cedar County Fair was held. Some believe the fair was held for the first time in 1893; others say 1882. According to an article which appeared in the Cedar County News on August 29, 1929, the first fair in Cedar County was held in the fall of 1874. This fair was not an official county fair, however, but rather was the promotion of Col. Charles C. Van.

Mr. Van was one of Cedar County’s first land owners and a member of the company that developed the original town of St. James in 1857. The 1874 fair was held in a farm field south of St. James and east of where Wynot now stands.

NOT EVEN A PIG AT FIRST FAIR HELD IN CEDAR COUNTY IN 1874

-- Not even one pig was present to arch his back for spectators at the first fair ever held in Cedar county. A few horses and two or three cows were brot by farmers to St. James. As Colonel Billy Van was chief advertiser, the fair was called “Billy Van’s Fair” rather than the Cedar County Fair, according to Mads Schmidt, 81-year-old Wynot man who attended the affair.

And the buildings and grounds? A small shed and a makeshift stand before an improvised race track which had recently been made in a stubble field was the scene of Cedar county’s first fair.

Pioneer families numbering fifty or more, with as many oxen and horse teams, came from miles around, an exhibit in themselves, with their animals and carts decked out in holiday ribbons and the children in their finest clothes.

There was trading among the men and visiting among the women, hungry for companionship after months of loneliness in the hills. They had much to talk about as they stood looking at the pride of their fields and the rest of their labors -- a few ears of corn and half bushel of oats and wheat.

“Well might they have been proud of those few ears of corn and half bushels of oats and wheat for they had worked hard to raise it,” tells Mr. Schmidt. “There were no seeders and planters in those days. The ground was spaded and the corn or wheat seeds dropped in. When the corn was up, the women hoed it themselves. They would often carry water to the corn in the times of drought. In harvesting time, men and women picked the corn or cut the wheat by hand. No wonder they were proud of the few ears and half bushels of grain.”

People were more appreciative of their blessings then, according to Mr. Schmidt who says that tho there was no ferris wheel, no merry-go-round, and no hot dog stand, they all had a big time. “They didn’t know the meaning of ice cream, but the lunches from home were good, especially when eaten in good company.”

There was one event tho, according to Mr. Schmidt, which shocked and thrilled not a few of those attending the fair. It was the side-saddle riding exhibition in which three county belles participated.

A dance that evening with the Ponca band furnishing the music, kept young and old dance lovers from their beds until well after eleven with hard work waiting the next day.

Colonel Billy’s Fair was popular and so they decided to have one similar the following year in 1875 at St. Helena. The old hall, standing today, was the setting for the fun. Homemade decorations made the place attractive As before there was some oats and corn brought in for exhibit. Half a dozen hog pens were built since this was to be a more pretentious event than that of the previous year, but in spite of the effort, one lone pig, weighing about 75 pounds, was the only entry in the swine exhibit. A few farmers showed cattle and horses and again the people drove their ox carts in from miles around for the big event.

Young and old danced in the hall that night to music again furnished by the Ponca band. There were waltzes and polkas and old fashioned square dances. Lamps burned late and laughter rang until late, when the teams were hitched again and the people went home to their work.

It took courage, Mr. Schmidt says to dance so gaily in those days, yet the people never stopped dancing even in the drought and grasshopper days. And though there was little grain and less stock in the hills of Cedar County, it gave them pleasure to meet and inspect each others’ accomplishments those years at St. James and St. Helena.

The above article was copied from the Cedar County News of August 29, 1929. All spellings such as “brot” and “tho” are as given in the original article. For reasons unknown, Mads Schmidt refers to Mr. Van as “Col. Billy Van.”