Aerial view showing crowded fairgrounds. The Delaware State Fair began as the Kent and Sussex County Fair in 1920, and is now known as the Delaware State Fair. 1928 was the last year the Delaware state fair was held at the Elsmere site.

This series includes 105 items dating from 1883 to 2005. Box 153

State Fairs began in the nineteenth century as a way to promote agriculture, livestock and farm products. The earliest State Fair in the US was in 1841, in Syracuse, New York. As the US moved to a more industrial society, fairs began to offer more variety including displays of commercial products, carnival rides and concerts. This series includes brochures, programs, stickers, tickets and more from a variety of State Fairs, from Alaska to Wyoming.

Related item: Blue ribbon USA : prizewinning recipes from state and county fairs / by Georgia Orcutt and John Margolies. San Francisco : Chronicle Books, ©2007.