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Oct 9, 2023 · The North Carolina State Fair first came to Raleigh in the 1850s. Back then, dazzling lights, fireworks, giant stuffed animals and wacky fair foods weren't yet on the menu. Admission was only...
The North Carolina State Fair is an American state fair and agricultural exposition held annually in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1853, the fair is organized by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It attracts around a million visitors over eleven days in mid-October.
Jan 1, 2002 · In 1873, under Thomas M. Holt’s leadership, the society moved the fair to a new, larger site west of the Capitol and next to the North Carolina Railroad, across Hillsborough Street from the present-day North Carolina State University campus.
So in 1873, the fair moved to a new, larger area on Hillsborough Street across from North Carolina State University’s current location. It’s now home to the Raleigh Little Theatre, and the former horse race track outlines its rose garden.
In 1853, the State Agricultural Society held the first State Fair; it was four days long and the largest attendance day had 4,000 fairgoers. Though the first N.C. State Fair took place 158 years ago, the 2011 Fair will actually only be the 144th staging of the event.
Jul 29, 2020 · The fair was first held by the State Agricultural Society in 1853, lasted four days, had 4,000+ visitors, and awarded $524 in cash prizes ($17,000 in today’s dollars). It was moved to its current site in west Raleigh ( 1025 Blue Ridge Road) in 1928, where it’s been held ever since.
Oct 1, 2009 · The Fair, a popular success in the 1850s, was interrupted by the Civil War but began again in 1869. The state of North Carolina took over the Fair from a financially strapped Agricultural Society in 1930, and for a few years the Fair was run by a circus promoter.
