Our History

In 1846, the Ohio Legislature created the 53-member Board of Agriculture. One of the Board’s first acts was to establish a District Fair. The resulting 1847 District Fair at Wilmington and the 1848 District Fair at Xenia were both successful, thus warranting a State Fair.

The first Ohio State Fair was planned for September 1849, but an outbreak of Asiatic cholera forced the cancellation of those plans. The following year, later dates were set to lessen the risk of cholera. Even so, Darius Lapham, the superintendent of the grounds, died of the disease just a few weeks before the opening date.

Camp Washington (two miles east of downtown Cincinnati) was the site of the first Ohio State Fair, Oct. 2 – 4, 1850. The site was described as 8 to 10 acres with grass slopes, shade trees and numerous tents. The grounds were enclosed by a 10-foot-high board fence. Cattle were tethered to a railing along the carriage road.

The railroads offered strong support to the early state fairs. Special rates were offered whereby exhibits were transported without charge, and the exhibitor rode for half fare. Several central Ohioans contributed to the first Fair, including Alfred Kelley, owner of the Columbus and Xenia Railroad Company.

Cash premiums at the first Fair did not exceed $20, with the exception of an award of $50 given to the winning essayists on the topic of “Improving the Soil.” During the early state fairs, winners received medals, not ribbons, as awards. In 1850, the silver medal was valued at $3.

The public was admitted only on the second and third days of the first Fair. Day one was devoted to setup and judging. Admission was 20 cents, but exhibitors could buy a $1 badge for admission for their families. A visitor could also buy a $1 badge for one gentleman and two ladies.

The two-day attendance was estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 people.

Transportation around Ohio was difficult. Therefore, the majority of exhibitors lived near the Fair. In 1886, the Fair moved to its current home at what is now called the Ohio Expo Center. The main entrance to the site was at the southwest corner of the grounds along Woodward Avenue. The OHIO Gate entrance is currently located at 11th Avenue.

The Ohio State Fair has been canceled a few times throughout history – including during WWII (for four years – 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945). At that time, the Board of Agriculture canceled the Ohio State Fair and allowed the war department to use the grounds and buildings for handling airplane parts and equipment for World War II. The Army Air Corps rented the facility for $1 per year. The Ohio State Fair was also canceled in 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 Ohio State Fair will be limited to livestock and educational competitions.

The Fair has been held in the following cities:

• 1851-Columbus (on the site of Mt. Carmel Hospital)
• 1852-Cleveland
• 1853-Dayton
• 1854-Newark
• 1855-Columbus (on the site of Mt. Carmel Hospital)
• 1856-Cleveland
• 1857-Cincinnati
• 1858-Sandusky
• 1859-Zanesville
• 1860-1861 - Dayton
• 1862-1863 - Cleveland
• 1864-1865 - Columbus (on the site of Schiller Park)
• 1866-1867 - Dayton
• 1868-1869 - Toledo
• 1870-1871 - Springfield
• 1872-1873 - Mansfield
• 1874-1885 - Columbus (on the site of Franklin Park)
• 1886-present - Columbus (Ohio Expo Center)

Historical Milestones

• 1853 – Entertainment entered the Fair programming with pony rides for children and monkeys dressed in hats that danced to minstrel tunes. The Ohio State Fair acknowledges the latter is wrong today and was wrong then. This fact is included because to ignore it would be akin to claiming that injustices were never part of the Fair. The Fair recognizes its past offenses and actively works to correct and learn from them as we work to further diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Fair.
• 1860 – Fair premiums rose to $200, up from $20 in 1850.
• 1886 – The Ohio State Fair moved to its current home, the Ohio Expo Center, which today encompasses 360 acres and is home to more than 175 events each year, contributing approximately $478 million to the state and local economy.
• 1888 – Ohioans celebrated the centennial of the land that would become the State of Ohio. This year marked the centennial of an important event in Ohio’s history, the creation of the Northwest Territory. Ohio became the first state formed from the Northwest Territory in 1803. Ohio cancelled the State Fair in 1888 and held a celebration of the centennial of the Northwest Territory in its place.
• 1896 – The Ohio State Fair became the first fair with an electric lighting system. This made it possible to offer nighttime racing. Horseless vehicles also made their first appearance this year.
• 1903 – The first butter cow and calf were featured at the Fair, sculpted by A. T. Shelton & Company, distributors of Sunbury Cooperative Creamery butter. Additional sculptures were added in the 1960s.
• 1905 – Livestock entries broke records in all departments, especially with 576 sheep in the nation’s largest sheep show of its kind.
• 1916 – In the midst of World War I, patriotism became a Fair theme. The world’s largest American flag, which was 8,840 square feet in size, was displayed at the 11th Avenue entrance gate.
• 1922 – Just days before the scheduled opening of the Fair, fire raced across the grounds. Six buildings were destroyed including the central group, the Horticulture Building, and the East and West Buildings. Losses were estimated at more than $800,000.
• 1924 – Earliest records of the Ohio State Fair Queen contest date back to this year.
• 1925 – The Diamond Jubilee Spectacle saluted the 75th anniversary of the Fair. More than 2,000 participants enacted the evolution of the Fair in three 25-year periods on three stages. The All-Ohio State Fair Band was formed this year.
• 1928 – The renowned John Philip Sousa Band performed twice daily at the 1928 Fair.
• 1929 – The Junior Fair was formed this year.
• 1941 – A sign of the times found 150 female Fair ticket-takers hired in place of men for the first time.
• 1942 – 1945 – The Board of Agriculture canceled the Ohio State Fair and allowed the war department to use the grounds and buildings for handling airplane parts and equipment for World War II. The Army Air Corps rented the facility for $1 per year. A similar fate befell fairs in Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
• 1955 – Shuttle buses were introduced.
• 1957 – The first female livestock judge, Mrs. Maurice Neville, judged the Yorkshire Swine Show.
• 1963 – The All-Ohio Youth Choir was established.
• 1966 – The original OHIO Gate was built at the 11^th Avenue entrance, costing $40,000.
• 1968 – The first Sale of Champions Livestock Auction was held with sales amounting to $22,674.
• 1969 – The first portion of the SkyGlider was built. It was later extended to 11th Avenue in 1984. The Giant Slide also opened this year.
• 1972 – Fire struck the Ohio Expo Center in October during the American Dairy Show. Three barns were burned, killing three head of cattle and destroying virtually all the exhibitors’ belongings. These buildings have since been replaced by the Gilligan Complex and the O’Neill Swine Building.
• 1976 – In celebration of the country’s bicentennial, a time capsule was buried in the gardens near the 11th Avenue gate (now known as the OHIO Gate). It holds treasures of the times from the Ohio State Fair: Ohio sports teams, coins and stamps, a T-shirt, Levis, and tennis shoes. It will be opened in 2026.
• 1986 – A 12-foot tall,16-foot-long cardinal sitting atop a 4-foot base was installed at the north entrance of the grounds. The bird, constructed of fiberglass, weighs approximately 500 pounds and still stands today.
• 1990 – The condemned Ohio State Fair Grandstand was demolished. The Celeste Center, which opened in 1991, replaced it as the site for the Fair’s big-name entertainment, as well as a venue for many non-fair events throughout the year.
• 1995 – The George V. Voinovich Livestock & Trade Center was completed.
• 2002 – The 11th Avenue OHIO Gate, originally built in 1966, was torn down and reconstructed using a more contemporary design.
• 2003 – The Ohio State Fair celebrated its 150th Fair. The first Fair was held in 1850 and there has been one every year since, excluding 1888 and 1942 to 1945.
• 2004 – The length of the Fair was changed from 17 days to 12 days.
• 2010 – The Coliseum was rededicated in honor of former Governor Bob Taft.
• 2011 – To recognize a wider range of exhibitors, market meat goats, turkeys, and cheese were added to the Sale of Champions in 2011.
• 2013 – The 2013 overall Sale of Champions record was broken and reset at $344,950.
• 2015 – In an effort to protect Ohio’s poultry industry from the avian flu, all species of poultry shows, as well as displays in the Natural Resources Park, petting zoo birds, and all other bird exhibits or shows, were not held at the 2015 Fair. The Buckeye Agriculture Complex was completed. The Fair set an overall 12-day attendance record with 982,305 visitors.
• 2016 – The modern, 100,000 square-foot Cardinal Hall opened on the former site of DiSalle Center, Heritage Building, and Adobe Center. This new building houses the Fair’s Creative Arts and Youth Arts Exhibits, the permanent Ohio Agriculture Hall of Fame exhibit, the heritage handmade crafts, and the model railroad exhibit.
• 2017 – The Sale of Champions livestock auction celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Ohio State Fair. Buyers have supported the Sale of Champions with a total of $6,721,229 in purchases since the first auction in 1968. The total amount of funds awarded from the Youth Reserve Program since its 1995 inception is $3,366,815.
• 2019 – Cardinal Hall was dedicated in honor of outgoing Governor John R. Kasich and was renamed Kasich Hall on January 4, 2019.
• 2020 – The Fair was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A smaller, virtual celebration replaced the traditional in-person event.
• 2021 – The Fair returned as a livestock-only event during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was not open to the public.
• 2022 – The Ohio State Fair returned for the first full fair since 2019. The Sale of Champions Livestock Auction broke every record.
• 2023 – The Reserve Grand Champion Boer Goat was added to the Sale of Champions Livestock Auction, and all caps were raised.
• 2023 — The Youth Reserve Program was dedicated and renamed the Virgil L. Strickler Youth Reserve Program.

Sale of Champions History