A look back on 150 years of history for the Colorado State Fair
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado State Fair is celebrating its 150th year in 2022. Every year, the fair honors and recognizes a variety of lifestyles and elements that make up Colorado.
A significant part of Colorado is the rich diversification of agriculture. According to the Colorado State Fair's website, Pueblo has been instrumental in encouraging and rewarding the agricultural history of the state by hosting the Colorado State Fair.
According to the Colorado Encyclopedia (CE), the Colorado Agricultural Society held the territory’s first agricultural fair northwest of Denver in September 1866.
By the end of the 1860s, however, farmers in northern and southern Colorado were dissatisfied with the Denver fair. The CE says that at this time, Colorado had about 1,700 farms and fewer than 100,000 acres under cultivation, most of them along the South Platte and Arkansas Rivers and their tributaries.
Northern and southern Coloradans began to organize agricultural societies and fairs of their own, including the Southern Colorado Agricultural and Industrial Association, established in Pueblo in 1872.
The Colorado State Fair began in 1872. Initially, it was held by the Southern Colorado Agricultural and Industrial Association, which received no cash assistance from the community or the state.
That October, the association held a three-day fair on a 100-acre site north of Pueblo. The CE reported that the horse races were especially popular, with attendance on the final day reportedly reaching 1,400.
In Colorado, the legislature had become involved with the state fair for the first time in 1888 when it designated Pueblo as the permanent location of the fair. The fair become incorporated and purchased 50 acres of land near Mineral Palace Park.
According to the fair's official website, the event happened at Mineral Palace Park until 1890. That's when the board moved the site to 100 acres of land west of Lake Minnequa. The state fair stayed in that spot for 11 years until moving to the current site.
The Mexican Pavilion was the first structure on the current site. When it was first built, the Mexican Pavilion also housed the police headquarters for the City of Pueblo.
In addition to location changes, the fair went through many administrative changes.
The first fair administration was a non-profit group made up of Pueblo citizens called the State Fair Association. In 1903, the fair received its first state appropriation.
In 1917, the fair got a State Fair Commission, and a deed to the land was given to the state. The fair then received its first tax of $1 million for operation and maintenance.
Today, the Colorado State Fair sits on 102 acres of land. Besides the fair, the fairgrounds host local graduations, concerts, art fairs, and more.
Officials say every year there are new activities and educational opportunities for Colorado citizens and visitors to enjoy.
For more information on the Colorado State Fair, click here.
