One hundred six dollars seemed to go a lot further in 1841 than it did in 2009. That's what the newly formed Delaware County Agricultural Society had appropriated for its first fair, held on Oct. 12 of that year, on the property of Charles L. Judson at the corner of Main and Meredith streets in Delhi. It was a distant forerunner to what we know today as the Delaware County Fair.
According to The Delaware Gazette, one of the area's earliest newspapers, this fair "far surpassed the most sanguine expectations."
Much the same as the present day, people liked their diversions from problems of day-to-day living. There had been an economic depression in 1835-36, and recovery was well under way. Troubles between farmers and landowners, known as the Anti-Rent War, had begun in 1839 and were ongoing.
Settlements in Delaware County were small and far apart in 1841 and the roads were rustic, to be polite. Delhi had the largest population at the time, also being the county seat. It would be a few decades before Walton would be considered as the site of the county fair, and the present site was a farm owned by David More, who had arrived in 1839.
For about the first 10 years, the fair was a one-day affair, but then expanded to two. Beginning in the 1850s, sites varied, depending on the town that could offer the best inducement for the privilege to hold it there, including Hobart, Walton, Andes, Franklin and Bloomville. Walton first hosted the fair in 1856.
Towns then started hosting the fair for a few years at a time. It was in Walton from 1867-71, Delhi from 1872-1925, and Walton occurring simultaneously with Delhi beginning in 1887.
A few residents in Walton met in June 1887 and decided to form a competing Delaware Valley Agricultural Society, as they wanted a permanent fair in their community. The society was legally created by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets in July. Fairs at that time were held on a site between Stockton Avenue and William Street.
It wasn't until 1926 that Walton became the sole site of the county fair. It was around this time that the dates of the fair were moved from September to August. The 1930s and the Great Depression brought hard times to Delaware County. The first nighttime fairs began during this time. It had been billed "The Great Walton Fair" for many years, but the name was changed in 1934 to the Delaware County Agricultural Fair and Horse Show. The '40s brought war, and polio epidemics cut into attendance. Depending on the year, the 1950s, '60s and '70s followed a pattern of making money one year and losing it the next.
In 1957, New York City almost obtained the fairgrounds for a sewage disposal plant as part of the expansion in the Catskills for the city's water supply in the '50s, which threw the fair into a temporary crisis. There had been considerable bitterness toward New York City for decades by area farmers, regarding the water supply. Once the dispute was resolved in January 1958, when Judge Walter Terry issued a decision voiding the sale of the fairground to New York City, there came a long period of renewed optimism and activity at the fair. Numerous improvements to the fairgrounds have since been made, including a new grandstand in 1976, new cattle barns in the 1980s, and restorations after a tremendous flood in 1996.
This year's fair will begin Monday.
On Monday: New Kingston annually celebrated the culture of the northwestern Catskills from 1969-76.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com.
His website is
www.oneontahistorian.com.
Print this story
E-mail this story
