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- Category: Past Issues
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
WOODSTOCK --- During its 150-year history, according to the Woodstock Fair's website, the first Woodstock Agricultural Society's own exhibit was held in 1859 and it was quite the adventure.
The society historians said the cattle were in pens on the common under the McClellan Elms. According to Colonel Alexander Warner, who was appointed Marshall that first year, the pens for the livestock were made of rails and slabs tied together with discarded telegraph wire. Spectators were so excited to see the cattle they climbed on the fences and the "hungry, tired animals" became agitated. "Two bulls charged the barricade and carried the pens that enclosed them along with the people on them. Excited spectators, men, women and children were all mixed up with cattle, horses, sheep and swine. Despite this episode, the Fair was declared a success."
Originally, around 1809, what became the Woodstock Fair was part of a joint effort with Pomfret and Brooklyn. Woodstock's first exhibition on its own was in 1859. While the cattle and spectators had an exciting "dustup" on the common, the fruits, flowers and manufactured goods were "exhibited in the vestry of the S. Woodstock Baptist Church." Admission, according to historians, was 10 cents. From 1860 to 1871 the fair was held in what is now the Masonic Hall which originally was next to the bridge over Saw Mill Brook. The cattle stayed on the Common. Fair dates and admissions changed through the years. In 1870 the current site was purchased and 50 pens for cattle were built of "chestnut posts 6x6 inches, 6 feet long,"
The three-story Exhibition Hall was built in 1871. "An arm chair composed entirely of flowers won national attention," according to historians. Historians said "Chester May of East Woodstock was reported to have exhibited 75 varieties of potatoes."
A race track and viewing stand were built, plus more pens for cattle and for poultry. Swine and sheep were added later. The Exhibition Hall was expanded in 1885.
During World War I the fair was held to one day. In the early 1920s, according to Society historians, a small tornado went through and moved the Exhibition Hall off its foundation. By the '30s rides appeared. There was no fair in 1942 and 1943, because of World War II. Following that, the fair was moved to Labor Day weekend. Bandstands and other buildings were added. Cattle barns were replaced. The horses were moved to additional property adjacent to the fairgrounds and in 1979 the society awarded its first scholarship to a graduating Woodstock Academy.
Little did the Society know, in the early 1800s, what the simple exhibition would become.