08/26/2026
For more than 175 years, the Crawford County Fair has brought neighbors together to celebrate agriculture, entertainment, and community.
The very first fair was held on October 19, 1848, on the site of what is now the Crawford County Courthouse. It featured just ten entries of sheep and hogs, along with needlework displays exhibited on the courthouse's second floor. By 1850, the fair had already outgrown its original location and moved to dedicated fairgrounds.
The fair we know today continued to evolve over the decades. A new fairgrounds site was purchased in 1914, the half-mile track was rebuilt and relocated in 1946, grandstands were constructed in 1947, and new buildings have been added through the years to serve generations of fairgoers.
Even in the 1890s, newspapers recognized how important fair season had become. An 1897 article remarked that "street fairs will be epidemic in this vicinity this fall," noting celebrations in Crestline, Marion, Shelby, Fostoria, Upper Sandusky, and many other communities, while declaring that Bucyrus "will have the best county fair in the state of Ohio."
But sometimes the best glimpse into history isn't found in a newspaper, it's written on the back of a photograph.
Pictured: "At the County Fair, Sept. 1897."
On the back, one young woman simply wrote:
"Florence and I drove over, stayed at Susan Reed's."
"A Jolly Lot."
"Took a ride on the Ferris Wheel."
More than 125 years later, those few words remind us that while the fairgrounds have changed, the experience hasn't changed all that much. Friends still pile into cars instead of horse-drawn buggies, they still spend the day together, still ride the midway, still make memories, and still head home talking about what a wonderful day they had.
Some traditions never go out of style.
