During the second half of the 18th century, the agricultural fair in Carmichaels stood as one of the most important social and economic events in the county. Starting in 1852, farmers from across the area gathered each year to display livestock, crops, machinery, and handmade goods that reflected the region’s agricultural traditions. Horses, dairy cattle, sheep, and prized poultry were judged, while competitions for the best corn, apples, preserves, and baked goods attracted widespread participation.
Beyond farming exhibitions, the fair served as a center of community life. Residents traveled by wagon and horseback to meet neighbors, exchange news, and enjoy entertainment that included brass bands, horse races, and traveling performers. Merchants and equipment dealers demonstrated modern farming tools, illustrating how industrial progress was beginning to influence rural agriculture. These exhibits helped farmers learn about improved plows, harvesting equipment, and breeding practices that could increase productivity.
Excerpts from G. Wayne Smith’s, History of Greene County, Pennsylvania reveal the Greene County Agricultural and Manufacturing Society held its thirty-fourth annual exhibition in Carmichaels on September 30 and October 1, 1886. The society chose Professor W.M. Nickeson as president, E.B. Baily, James Bell, S.B. Swan, and H.H. Cree as vice-presidents.
The annual Carmichaels Fair on October 10-11,1889 was quite successful with approximately 2,500 people visiting the exhibits of animals and industrial machinery. The horse races also drew huge, enthusiastic crowds.
The following year, the crowd was estimated to be 3,000. The fair collected $1,200, which paid all expenses and left “a balance for future activities.” In 1892, the Board advertised the 40th annual fair of the Society as “the oldest agricultural association in Western Pennsylvania that has run without a break well on to a half century.”
Around the turn of the twentieth century, the fair was held in and around the borough itself, serving as the temporary “Greene County Fair” from 1902 to 1910 after the original Waynesburg fairgrounds were sold.
In January of 1904, a new 25-acre site was purchased on Ceylon Road from J. Ewing Baily for $10,000. Baily was also the treasurer of the Society, while F.M. Blackshere, G.L. Hathaway, and Isaac Eaton were the other officers.
That September, the exhibitions were held at the new site. The horse races had a total purse of $2,000 and drew participants from all over the tri-state area. Five thousand people came through the gates on Saturday night.
The following year, the fair was again held in late September, and attendance topped 7,000. The previous year, the weather had been chilly and rainy; however, the reporter claimed the “dust on the ground was almost unbearable” that season. However, two types of racing were still extremely popular.
First, there were three types of horse racing. One was a series of one-third mile heats featuring three and four-year-olds. The winner received a $15 prize. In addition, there were also one-mile harness races with the top three places going home with $60, $25, $15, respectively ($60 would be equal to $2,500 in today’s money). Finally, there was a two-thirds mile sweepstakes race with a $25 prize.
However, the most popular competitions were the one-mile bicycle races. An individual needed to win three of five heats to take home the Silver Cup and $40 (Approximately, $1,500 today).
Other highlights I found from the era included Khedive’s A.L. Rich, Esq. attracting attention in 1909 with his fifty-six-pound pumpkin as well as his “collection of relics.” That collection included the first bicycle ever manufactured and a 200-year-old wooden wheel clock.
In addition, the Biddle family dominated annually in almost every livestock category.
The final year the Carmichaels Fair operated as the undisputed Greene County Fair was 1910. The following year, the newly formed Waynesburg Fair and Agricultural Association opened its new grounds and resumed the “county fair” in Waynesburg. Although, according to articles in the Waynesburg Republican, both fairs claimed to be the “Greene County Fair’ for years to come.
Regardless of that moniker, the Carmichaels fair continued to flourish and drew 10.000 people on big nights through the 1920s and 1930s.
Dog racing was added to the slate of activities in 1930 and proved very popular. In 1937, Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Roy Furman was the featured speaker on “Workers’ Day” at the “84th annual Greene County Fair in Carmichaels.” Ten thousand miners from the tri-county area were expected to be in attendance.
This would appear to represent the gradual shift from agricultural to industrial emphasis in the area. That year the fair also featured “a Bright Lights show, 45 fair units (including 5 rides), five high class shows, 35 concession vendors, and the world famous Flying Talverts.”
In addition to the traditional horse racing, there were motorcycle races, “free hill-billy acts,” and three WPA musical programs. It was to be the “greatest outdoor program ever on the Carmichaels fairgrounds”
The 1938 edition of the fair featured “several rodeos, motorcycle racing, and picnics.”
However, in May of 1939, the Republican reported the fairgrounds were being renovated and no definite plans for the summer had been announced. I found no further references to a Carmichaels Fair throughout the 1940s. My theory would be the fair ceased during WWII and transformed into post-war firemen’s carnivals and Coal Show activities.
If any of our readers have additional information, we would be glad to hear from you.
