Throughout the history of the Clark County Fair, there is a vivid reflection of people…hard working, warm and friendly Clark Countians who come together as a community to showcase their talents. All the year long, citizens look forward to getting together with friends and neighbors at the county fair, enjoying camaraderie while catching up with familiar faces.
Take a step back to the faces and time of 1948, when Harry Truman was President, Kentucky won its first NCAA Basketball Championship, Columbia records introduced the first 33 1/3 album, Citation won the Kentucky Derby, and the first organizational meeting of the Clark County Fair was held. With nearly 8,000 in attendance, the first Clark County Fair was a three-day event, held October 14-16, 1948 at the Winchester Tobacco Warehouse Cooperative on Winn Avenue. With a 35-cent entry fee for adults and 15-cents for children, attendees could enjoy entertainment programs, livestock shows, agricultural displays, a merry-go-round, and a ferris wheel.
The fair was eventually moved to Hannah McClure Field until the summer of 1968, when the Fair Board leased a tract of land on Route 15 from the Fiscal Court. The rolling countryside was converted into the present-day fairgrounds featuring a horse show ring, motor sports arena, carnival midway, the William N. Shelton Exposition Building, a 4-H exhibit hall, and several livestock shelters.
After over 60 years of success, attendance is at an all time high of over 40,000 fairgoers annually. Several fairground improvements are nearer reality than ever before, and the Clark County Fair continues to receive awards annually from the Kentucky Association of Fairs & Horse Shows for the hard work and dedication of its volunteer organization.
