The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-10-25
Correspondence of the Ashland Union.
FIFTH OHIO STATE FAIR.

DR.. SHER1DAN:-I paid a flying visit
to the State Fair on Thursday last. As
yours is only a Weekly issue, 1 shall be
under the necessity of embodying in a
single letter all those things which 1
considered worthy of making a note
on !" and, consequently, will occupy more
space than may be agreeable to you or
your numerous readers.
THE TRIP DOWN.
w left Mansfield on the $50 morn
ing train, via. s. III. 81 N. Rail Road,
drawn by that splendid locomotive,
Hooking )" said to be one of the lar
gest and most powerful in the State.
Our train was augmented to forty-nine
cars before we reached Newark, and had
5000 passengers aboard. W. were COM
PEELED to occupy a common box car, as
the Company had not regular passenger
cars enough to accommodate the one
tenth part of the crowd. The morning
air was sharp and bracing, and King
Jack Frost showed his utter contempt
for all Liquor Laws, by furnishing the
entire company with nasal protuberances
very much resembling a beet. The
country along the Road from Mansfield
to Utica is broken and billy, but from
the latter place to Newark is. a level
plain. When we arriyedat Frederick
some wag started the story that we had
run over a man a mile back. Of course
there was a general piling out to see
the remains of the unfortunate indi-
vidual borne to the station. 1t turned
out, however, that the luckless individ-
ual aforesaid, was uauzer q bridge!
Each gave his neighbor a knowing look,
as much as to say, anything green over
there ?" The sell was heartily enjoyed
by all who were not taken IN. As the
train neared Newark, at least 1000 male
passengers, .~ourself among the number,
crawled on top of the cars, to get a good
view of the City and surrounding
try. We arrived in town about IL o.
clock, and was soon mingling with the
great crowd. Amid the hurrying and
bustling Of people, the swearing of Je-
hues, and the rafting of vehicles, We
made our way &c the Depot of the Cen
trail Ohio Rail Road, took q special &C
commodation train, and in less than half
an hour was set down at
THE FAIR GROUNDS.
The Fair Grounds proper, consisted
of about 80 acres, enclosed by a high
board fence, which included the famous
mounds about which there has been so
much said and little known. These
mounds are supposed by some to be the
remains of an ancient Notification. BY
others, to have been a place of sacrifice
of some warlike race anterior to the As
tees. And by others, a vast circle
thrown up by the Aborigines-the orig
inal Know Nothings Into which
they drove the wild game, and slaugh-
tered them without mercy. Leaving
these theories to the s~peculations of the
curious, we will enter
THE INNER C
Upon entering the enclosure, a scene
grand and imposing presented itsolf.
Standing on the outer embankment-|
which was 80 feet high-we could take
in at a single glance the whole of the vast
arena. The crowd-which the officers
say was $4,000 on Thursday-was
moving to and fro like the waves of the
Some were visiting the Stock stalls
were in the Floral, farmers
Manufacturers or Mechanics tents
some lounged at ease IN the ancient en-
bankments, while hundreds of gaily-
dressed ladies, with their male attend
ants" fast " young men-promenaded
in the shade of the create oldforest trees,
whose widc-spreading branches and vel
low foliage almost excluded the feeble
rays of the October SUM-. Thousands of
people surrounded the Stock ring, in
which was being displayed the best hor-
SEES of the Buckeye State. Hero was a
little group of committee men, vainly
.endeavoring to bump their honest pates
a conclusion in regard to some
disputed point, while there was a lot of
~devouripg "ginger bread }" ap-
parently without the slightest regard for
e expenses" Everybody looked happy
and cheerful-overy body seemed bent
on "going it at all ba2a1 it
was indeed gratifying,
the happy denizeus of
raj districts of Ohio, \
to honor the enterprise
our noble State. It was aAfusion "
in which even the " old fogies" of De-
mocracy could heartily join. As we gazed
intently upon the imposing scene, visions
of the. future greatness of Ohio f1oatcd
through our Imagination, and emotions
of pride swelled within our breast that
were one of even the humblest of her
citizens.
H ToC
The display in Stock was grand, ex-
it is said, all former Fairs. The
Stock stalls extended nearly around the
entire enclosure, and were nearly al &C.