State Fair 125th: Fair’s history includes stops in Mitchell, other cities

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It was Mitchell’s time to shine, a chance to show off the growth of the city.

“Mitchell will have the grandest opportunity of her life, next week, to make a good impression on the outside world and should do everything to improve it,” wrote the city’s newspaper, which at that time was The Daily Republican.

The event that was so trumpeted by the newspaper was the third Dakota Territorial Fair, held in Mitchell Sept. 26-20, 1887. It was the forerunner of the South Dakota State Fair, which celebrates its 125th anniversary today through Monday.

Although the State Fair is synonymous with Huron, in its early years it was held in several cities.

The fair was held in Huron in 1885 and 1886; Mitchell in 1887 and 1888; Aberdeen in 1889 and 1890; Sioux Falls in 1891 and 1892; Aberdeen in 1893 and 1894; Sioux Falls in 1895; and Yankton from 1896 to 1904 before landing in Huron in 1905, where it has remained.

The two fairs held in Mitchell were considered big successes, according to The Daily Republican, and both reportedly drew more than 10,000 people to the city.

The fairgrounds were built on the eastern edge of the city on what is now Hitchcock Park and adjoining areas. A racetrack had been built in the area a few years earlier, and it was called The Driving Park.

The Daily Republican, in stories leading up to the opening day of the fair, referred to a “busy throng of workmen” getting the area prepared for the event. The workmen built 150 box stalls for thoroughbreds and speed horses, 150 cattle sheds and a water main.

“So far as water is concerned, there will be an abundance on all parts of the ground,” The Daily Republican reported.

The major events that year were shooting contests, horse and bicycle races, baseball games and a series of “balloon ascensions.” Hot-air balloon rides, coincidentally, are back at this year’s fair in Huron, thanks to Mitchell’s Corn Palace Balloon Club, which will provide rides Saturday morning and evening.

Back in 1887, M.M. Hitchcock was charged with creating a bike track, and he promised a smooth track to allow for amateur and professional races. Pro riders from across the country came to Mitchell to compete for cash prizes and gold and silver medals, including Prince Wells, who the paper reported was the greatest “fancy bicyclist” in the land. In addition to racing, Wells performed trick rides on bikes and unicycles across Mitchell.

There were also “ladies’ equestrian races” and a “slow mule race,” in which the riders switched mules halfway through. The slowest mule claimed the prize.

In 1887, the fair opened with a blast of typically powerful Dakota weather. A “terrible raw wind from the north” kept people away, and dense fog covered the fairgrounds. The weather cleared the next three days, however.

The Daily Republican celebrated the Territorial Fair with these headlines on Thursday, Sept. 29, 1887: “Success Assured; Magnificent Exhibits, Entertaining Program; The City and Grounds Filled With Visitors.”

Territorial Gov. Louis K. Church delivered a speech that day, as did Michigan Congressman Edward P. Allen and Mitchell Mayor T.F. Mentzer.

There were 10,000 people on the fairgrounds that afternoon, according to the newspaper, and half of them came to hear the politicians speak.

Church vowed to be a strong advocate for statehood.

“If a child could point the way by which a single act of his could crown Dakota with statehood, he would gladly do it,” The Daily Republican reported.

Church said he wished for a “mighty chariot with wings of wind” to bring the president and Congress to Mitchell to show the achievements that were on display.

Rep. Allen delighted the crowd with a one-hour speech that blended humor with comments on the future of the West.

Allen, a Republican who represented Michigan’s Second District, said he was fearful about coming to the “wild west” but had learned it was much like the woodlands of Michigan where he lived. He said people could believe him on this.

“I am honest for I am a lawyer,” the congressman said. The paper reported laughter greeted that comment.

Allen also explained the difference between an agriculturalist and a farmer. He said an agriculturalist lives in town and spends his money on his farm, while a farmer lives in the country and spends his money in town.

Applause and laughter greeted that remark, according to The Daily Republican.

Political speeches were an enormously popular public event in the 19th century and remain popular in modern times. On Saturday, the State Fair will host a forum for the candidates in the gubernatorial race at 1 p.m. on the NorthWestern Energy Freedom stage, and on Sunday, the fair will host the state’s U.S. House candidates for a forum at noon in the Women’s Building Auditorium.

Mitchell claims wins at ‘base ball’

“Base ball,” as the sport was spelled then, also had a national following in 1887.

The Mitchell nine played three games during the fair. They bested Alpena, a team made up of men from the local area as well as Minneapolis, 23-9 on Sept. 28 and 8-4 two days later.

In between, the Mitchell team took on a squad from Yankton, Sioux Falls, Huron and Scotland and routed them. The paper didn’t bother to provide a score, simply reporting “the Mitchell boys running the score way up.”

Like any large gathering then or today, there were some devious people with less-than-honorable intentions.

The Daily Republican sounded the warning a few days before the fair opened and offered a solution as well: “The ‘tinhorn gamblers’ and ‘fakirs’ are beginning to come in, prepatory to the fair. A prompt dose of medicine, administered at once, might have a good effect and save trouble next week.”

During the fair, there were reports of thefts and robberies. During a balloon ascension, several hundred dollars were lifted from people.

In addition, some “soiled doves,” as prostitutes were referred to at the time, had set up headquarters in Mitchell, the paper reported.

But, for the most part, it was a time for Dakota Territory to show off its growth.

Pumpkins weighing 150 pounds were on display and squash nearly as large was also hauled to the fair. Beets, turnips, apples, grapes, other fruit and both “wild” and “tame” grasses were on display in Mitchell.

The Daily Republican reported that the exhibits filled the fairgrounds.

There were 338 cattle, 278 horses, 70 swine, 60 poultry and 50 sheep on display. There were 260 forms of grain, seeds and vegetables for fairgoers to peruse.

The Women’s Department featured 344 exhibits, and there were 150 pieces of art on display as well as 154 items from the apiary, pantry and kitchen and another 131 forms of machinery on exhibit.

Music was a major part of the weeklong celebration. The local Baptist church held performances each night.

The fair left Mitchell fairly glowing in pride. The local bicycle club held races on the weekend after the fair concluded to keep the nationally known racers in town. The Daily Republican hailed the event: “It was the best kind of success,” it wrote.

The paper, usually a twopage broadsheet, published four pages during the fair. Large display advertisement filled pages and there was extensive coverage of the fair that ran days after it ended, listing winners of various competitions.

The Daily Republican increased its print run to 5,000 papers on several days, more than twice the population of the city, and newsboys hawked the paper across Mitchell.

The 1888 Fair

The fourth of five Territorial Fairs was also held in Mitchell. It ran from Sept. 24-28, 1888.

The Daily Republican provided a great deal less coverage of this fair. The paper was absorbed in the presidential race and other political contests and, true to its name at the time, heavily favored GOP candidates.

The fair’s big event was supposed to be a performance by Professors Hunt and Price of Cleveland. The professors, who evoked images of the balloon-flying Wizard of Oz, promised to send a balloon up 5,000 feet in the air and Price would plummet to the earth, using a parachute to soften his descent.

Special trains brought people to Mitchell from across the region. The Omaha line offered special trains that sold rides for 1 cent per mile.

The state agricultural college, what is now South Dakota State University, sent staff and students to Mitchell to display their knowledge and accomplishments.

The Education Department was the hit of the fair, according to The Daily Republican.

“We think no department has received more favorable comments than this, and surely none was more deserving,” it wrote.

The Mitchell School District was also saluted for its displays.

The fair drew 8,000 to 10,000 people on its opening day, the paper reported, but some grumbling was heard.

The Daily Republican said people expressed “disappointment” at the exhibits. The paper said Mitchell had done its part, had paid what it was asked to host the fair, and could not be held responsible.

In addition to other problems, Professors Hunt and Price and didn’t show up, so there was no balloon show, no thrilling dive to Earth.

When it was over, without any mention of a speech by the governor or any other prominent officials, the paper said it had been a “brilliant success.”

But it also asked local business owners to support bringing it back, and implored them to invest in a community fund to land the 1889 fair. The State Board of Agriculture awarded the fair to the high bidder.

The fair shifted to Aberdeen the next year. The Hub City landed it with a bid of $1,700, according to South Dakota Historical Society manuscript archivist Matthew T. Reitzel. It continued to move around until landing permanently in Huron in 1905.

The fair was never held in Mitchell again.

These days, there is little visual evidence it was ever held here, and few know of it.

The Mitchell Area Historical Society has few records of the fairs. The South Dakota Historical Society came up empty looking for photos of the fairs and said no staffers had any information on it.

South Dakota State Fair officials have only sketchy history of the early days of the fair.

Mitchell native Tom Kippes, the Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department field operations superintendent, said he has heard stories from old-timers about the fair and the racetrack in what is now Hitchcock Park.

Kippes took The Daily Republic on a tour of the park, showing a grass berm on the east side of the park that may have been a section of the old track.

Kippes has also discovered an old wooden boardwalk near the bandshell that is now covered in grass. The wooden planks are still there, he said.

But other than those fragments, the great fairgrounds of 1887 and 1888 have receded into the mists of Mitchell’s past.

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