Description: This photograph shows a young man receiving a prize in the 4-H beef cattle show with his bull. The Ohio State Fair is an annual exhibition held at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus that showcases Ohio farming and commercial products and achievements. In the 1840s, farmers began to join agricultural organizations, and the state of Ohio began to take an interest in the challenges that farmers faced. As a result, the state government created the Board of Agriculture in 1846. The Board of Agriculture planned to hold the first statewide fair in 1849, but a cholera epidemic forced the fair's cancellation. The first Ohio State Fair was held the next year instead. The city of Cincinnati hosted the fair in 1850, which went on for three days. Ultimately, the Board decided that the state capital should be the permanent site for the state fair, and it moved to Columbus in 1874. By the 1870s, the state's railroad system had improved significantly, and it was much easier to travel from all parts of the state. The current fairgrounds, known today as the Ohio Expo Center, were completed in 1886. The Ohio State Fair has been held at these fairgrounds ever since. This photograph is part of the Ohio Expositions Commission Photograph Collection, a series of black and white photographs, the majority of which were taken between 1955-1968, which consist of livestock at fairs, primarily horses, and documents many types of State Fair activities, especially horsemanship and livestock activities. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA768AV_B01F13_001
Subjects: Ohio State Fair; Expositions and fairs; Livestock; Prizes; Cattle; Agriculture--Ohio;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a photograph of the champion steer and his owner accepting their prize at the Ohio State Fair in 1968. Governor James Rhodes is pictured at left. The Ohio State Fair is an annual exhibition held at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus that showcases Ohio farming and commercial products and achievements. In the 1840s, farmers began to join agricultural organizations and the state of Ohio began to take an interest in the challenges that farmers faced. As a result, the state government created the Board of Agriculture in 1846. The Board of Agriculture planned to hold the first statewide fair in 1849, but a cholera epidemic forced the fair's cancellation. The first Ohio State Fair was held the next year instead. The city of Cincinnati hosted the fair in 1850, which went on for three days. Ultimately, the Board decided that the state capital should be the permanent site for the state fair, and it moved to Columbus in 1874. By the 1870s, the state's railroad system had improved significantly, and it was much easier to travel from all parts of the state. The current fairgrounds, known today as the Ohio Expo Center, were completed in 1886. The Ohio State Fair has been held at these fairgrounds ever since. This photograph is part of the Ohio Expositions Commission Photograph Collection, a series of black and white photographs, the majority of which were taken between 1955-1968, which consist of livestock at fairs, primarily horses, and documents many types of State Fair activities, especially horsemanship and livestock activities. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA768AV_B01F03_001
Subjects: Ohio State Fair; Expositions and fairs; Livestock; Prizes; Cattle; Agriculture--Ohio;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows (from left to right) James Rhodes, Nancy Campbell, an unidentified man, and a certain Kaltenbach, with Nancy's Junior Division Champion barrow at the 1968 Ohio State Fair. Another photograph of Nancy and her junior champion in this collection accompanies a news release issued by the Ohio Expositions Center which reads "Nancy Campbell of Washington C.H. [Court House] is the proud owner of the 1968 Ohio State Fair Grand Champion barrow in the Junior Division. 'Ralph'--the 220-pound champion--is Nancy's first 4-H project. She is a member of the Livestock Lads and Lassies 4-H Club. Nancy's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Harry Campbell." The Ohio State Fair is an annual exhibition held at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus that showcases Ohio farming and commercial products and achievements. In the 1840s, farmers began to join agricultural organizations, and the state of Ohio began to take an interest in the challenges that farmers faced. As a result, the state government created the Board of Agriculture in 1846. The Board of Agriculture planned to hold the first statewide fair in 1849, but a cholera epidemic forced the fair's cancellation. The first Ohio State Fair was held the next year instead. The city of Cincinnati hosted the fair in 1850, which went on for three days. Ultimately, the Board decided that the state capital should be the permanent site for the state fair, and it moved to Columbus in 1874. By the 1870s, the state's railroad system had improved significantly, and it was much easier to travel from all parts of the state. The current fairgrounds, known today as the Ohio Expo Center, were completed in 1886. The Ohio State Fair has been held at these fairgrounds ever since. This photograph is part of the Ohio Expositions Commission Photograph Collection, a series of black and white photographs, the majority of which were taken between 1955-1968, which consist of livestock at fairs, primarily horses, and documents many types of State Fair activities, especially horsemanship and livestock activities. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA768AV_B01F03_002
Subjects: Ohio State Fair; Expositions and fairs; Livestock; Prizes; Swine; Agriculture--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This poster was printed by The Calvert Lithography Company in Detroit, Michigan, to advertise the Westerville Fair taking place October 2-4, 1895, in Westerville, Ohio. The image in the center shows jockeys and their horses racing on the track. Below the image, text lists new features of the fairgrounds, information on the horse races, transportation, and entertainment. The poster states that $10,000 was spent on improvements to the fairgrounds including a new grand stand and regulation race track, and boasts of the water works system. The fourteenth Regiment Band "will furnish music during the fair," and visitors can take the Columbus Central electric cars from Columbus to Westerville. The poster lists G.W. Meeker as President and Burr Linnabary as Secretary, presumably of the Westerville Fair Board. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS4796
Subjects: Posters; Fairs; Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Horse racing; Expositions and fairs
Places: Westerville (Ohio); Delaware (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Quilt which won Best of Show at the Ohio State Fair, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1992-1993. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01046
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Ohio State Fair (Columbus, Ohio); Ohio Economy--Agriculture; Expositions and fairs;
Places: Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Unicyclist on aerial spiral on East Walker St, Upper Sandusky, Ohio, during a carnival in 1907. Photograph by Harry Evan Kinley (1882-1969), a native of Upper Sandusky. Kinley was active in local events and organizations, and spent his professional career as a clerk at his father's department store, and later as a travelling salesman for the Marion Paper & Supply Company (1934-1962). He was also an avid lifelong photographer, and the bulk of the Harry Kinley Collection is comprised of glass plate negatives documenting the Kinley family, the city of Upper Sandusky and Wyandot County and surrounding areas. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07820
Subjects: Fairs--Ohio; Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Bicycles and bicycling; Performers
Places: Upper Sandusky (Ohio); Wyandot County (Ohio)
 

Description: The photograph shows Samson's snake display on Main Street in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Three men stand in front of the booth, which displays a large banner reading "Samson" and an image of a snake wrapped around a tree. The sign on the wall of the booth is partially obstructed by a box, but the visible portion reads "An educational exhibit, a study of monster boa constrictor as presented in their natural..." Lights are strung up before the booth and a ferris wheel lies behind it on the street. Photograph by Harry Evan Kinley (1882-1969), a native of Upper Sandusky. Kinley was active in local events and organizations, and spent his professional career as a clerk at his father's department store, and later as a travelling salesman for the Marion Paper & Supply Company (1934-1962). He was also an avid lifelong photographer, and the bulk of the Harry Kinley Collection is comprised of glass plate negatives documenting the Kinley family, the city of Upper Sandusky and Wyandot County and surrounding areas. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV30_B01F01_05
Subjects: Fairs--Ohio; Snakes; Arts and Entertainment; Performers
Places: Upper Sandusky (Ohio); Wyandot County (Ohio);
 

Description: The photograph shows a unicyclist riding on a spiral structure on East Walker Street in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, during a carnival. The spiral, connected to the ground by wires, rises high above the street. A net below the structure provides some safety to the performer. Men and boys stand in the street looking up at the spectacle and more onlookers peer from second floor windows. The Seider & Ludwig Buggy Works can be seen in the photo on the right side of the street. Photograph by Harry Evan Kinley (1882-1969), a native of Upper Sandusky. Kinley was active in local events and organizations, and spent his professional career as a clerk at his father's department store, and later as a traveling salesman for the Marion Paper & Supply Company (1934-1962). He was also an avid lifelong photographer, and the bulk of the Harry Kinley Collection is comprised of glass plate negatives documenting the Kinley family, the city of Upper Sandusky and Wyandot County and surrounding areas. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV30_B01F01_47
Subjects: Fairs--Ohio; Entertainers; Performers; City and town life
Places: Upper Sandusky (Ohio); Wyandot County (Ohio);
 

Description: Portrait of Jill Snyder, Miss Wool 1968 - 1969, holding a bouquet of wool and a stuffed sheep at the Ohio State Fair. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00794
Subjects: Women--Ohio; Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Expositions and fairs; Agriculture; Rural life
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Domed building constructed for the centennial of the Northwest Territory at the Ohio State Fair, held in Columbus, Ohio, 1888. 1888 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. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04166
Subjects: Northwest Territory--History; Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Expositions and fairs
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Old Dredge in back of fairground, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio." Dredges are used to remove debris from the bottom of rivers or other bodies of water in order for ships to be able to pass through. After lowering a dipper, which is suspended by a chain from a steel beam called a derrick, the derrick moves in a circular motion so that the dipper gathers up mud and dirt from the bottom of the river. The dipper is then lifted and rotated over a barge, where the contents of the scoop are deposited. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F06_023_1
Subjects: Dredging; County fairs; Canals--Ohio--Dayton
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated 1854, this is a diploma awarded by the Hocking County Agricultural Society to Catherine C. Hopley for the best specimen of fancy drawing at the Annual Fair in Logan, Ohio, in Hocking County. The diploma is signed by R. Wright, president, presumably of the Fair Board. The text is surrounded by a detailed drawing which features agricultural tools and equipment at the top, and two women sitting on statue bases. Catherine was the elder sister of John P. Hopley of Bucyrus, Ohio. She authored one of the first popular books on snakes, titled "Snakes: Curiosities and Wonders of Serpent Life" in 1882. She made a number of other important contributions to the study of herpetology and did fieldwork on snake populations in Ohio. Hopley authored a variety of other texts, including "Sketches of the Ophidians" (1873), "Life in the South" (1863), and "Adventures in the Wilds of the West" (1872). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS5553
Subjects: Hopley, Catherine Cooper, 1817-1911; Fairs--Ohio; Drawings (visual works); Awards
Places: Logan (Ohio); Hocking County (Ohio)