The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-08-21
Home Town Stories


TIL revival of county fair project
for Richmond is a reminder CT the
days of former projects of this char
acter each of which, after a career
divided between success and adversely
| finally succumbed. No matter what
some individuals may think of county
| fairs with their racing features, the
| fact remains that spotted over Indiana
and in every other state in the middle
| west these annual events still are be-
| ing held and in vast majority OF cases
| are financially successful.
! 1t must be taken into considera-
| ton that conditions have changed
! since Richmond last attempted coun-
| ty fair. And the change has been for
/ the better No one element entered
! into the success of a fair 20 or 30
years ago as much as transportation
| and the same element still figures
very largely.
The traction lines and the automo-
biles have conquered the transporta-
j ton problem. No longer is it a ques-
ton of getting the people into and
out of fair towns. 1t is easy.
Richmond's original fair ground was
in the south part of toWn-or to be
| more nearly correct was south Of
where the town then was. That was
in the Civil war days, and during the
recruiting periods the fair ground was
/, the place of rendezvous for the young
men of Wayne and adjoining coun-
ties who enlisted for service.
New Site Selected
A few years after the war the south
side fair ground disappeared and then
a project was undertaken which re-
: suited in a new site being selected
Notwithstanding the Pennsylvania
railroad tracks, and just west of Glen
Miller. All of that territory in the
vicinity of the stock yards and west
thereof was a part of the fair grounds
The haif-rnile track and the various
, buildings occupied a tract of about
So acres.
The last fair project was that east
of Richmond, just south of the
Country club grounds, where a mills
= track was built that was regarded as
2 enc of the very best in the country
. The typical county fair features were
+ missing in part, but the racing feature
was strong and for several years Rich
= mond was on the map as a racing city
r The association finally became finan
q cialiy embarrassed and the attempts
to reorganize were without success
First Step Taken
The project in which thousands O
dollars had been invested was allowed
:, to go by default and as a resul
u there has not been for more than q
p years any real effort to revive a fai
l. project-until now.
n The first step has been taken-tha
rNf he foi ~, :,
Il September. The next step will be
IS permanent fair organization whicl
will buy tract for a fair and il
g another year start it. Those who pre-
n tend to have some knowledge of sucl
n things say it is not a dream-that
g can be done, and that it will once NOR
, bring Wayne county and Richmon
back into the class with Muncie, Ar
deTson and dozens of other cities 0
= the same class which have for a lon
- period successfully conducted fairs
u The approaching campaign with tn
[ spellbinders of both Republicans an
y Democrats scampering over the state
will perhaps bring some interest t
the voters in general, but the so-calle
''off year" probably will run true t
form and display lack of the pc
e that a presidential combat Away
If brings.
IF Speaking Of campaigns. oratory an
r. orators, brings to mind an inciden
in that happened in Richmond years ag
+ many years ago to be exact. SEM
az tor John Sherman was brought to II
N diana for a series of speeches an
,e Richmond was one Of his stoppin
III places.
= The Republican county committee
q recognizing the greatness of Sherma
Nv and desiring that nothing should b
ST done that would not be in full keepin