By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent
 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — When the Illinois State Fair starts its 10-day run Friday, it will be held on the same familiar 366-acre parcel of land that has played host since 1894, when the first permanent fairground was established here.

Before that, however, the fair called many different Illinois cities home – including Chicago, Alton, Peoria, Freeport, Jacksonville, Decatur, Quincy, Ottawa, DuQuoin, Olney and Centralia.

The fair has been part of Springfield’s history and heritage since its inception in 1853, when it was held on the western outskirts of the town where Sacred Heart Academy was later constructed. It was the brainchild of a group of area farmers who joined together to form the Illinois State Agricultural Society, which later became the State Board of Agriculture.

Up to 20,000 people paid an admission fee of 25 cents each to see the fastest horses, the fattest hogs and the latest farming technology the state had to offer. (Curiously, it was also reported that “not one inebriated man was seen” at the fairgrounds.)
The second state fair was held the following year at the same location, but in 1855 it was moved to Chicago, according to a 1979 Peoria Journal Star article. The fourth fair was held at fairgrounds constructed in Alton, though the fair never returned there.

The site for the fifth fair was Peoria, where it was held Oct. 20-25, 1857, with divisions for textiles and arts included for the first time. Nearly 2,000 entries competed for $3,000 in premiums.

In 1858 the fair was held in Centralia, where chaos ensued when two farm children accidentally ascended into the sky after a hot-air balloon broke loose from a fence. The balloon came to rest some 18 miles away with the children unhurt, according to the fair’s website.

“By 1873 and 1874, when it returned to Peoria again, the fair was considerably larger and featured buffalo on exhibit for the first time,” wrote Journal Star agriculture columnist Dave Lane. “It was during that period that the new state board of (agriculture) decided a permanent fairgrounds with buildings was needed, but that was not achieved until 1894 when the present fairgrounds land was acquired.”

The fair returned to Peoria in 1881-82. Records indicate hotels and steamboats were packed with visitors to the city during those years, with many residents opening their homes to fairgoers.

From 1889-92 the fair enjoyed a four-year run in Peoria. The following year, 1893, no fair was held because of the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago.

When the fair resumed in 1894, it had returned to Springfield for good. Admission to the new, permanent fairgrounds was 50 cents for adults, 75 cents for one person on horseback and $1.25 for a carriage of four.

Through the years, the Illinois State Fair has maintained one of the largest agricultural shows in the country, and still retains its core purpose of providing a showcase for the best and latest in Illinois and United States agriculture. It has provided many memories for the tens of thousands of visitors to pass through its gates each year, who continue to create their own history.