FAIRS

For hundreds of years the fair has been a popular form of public entertainment. There is an unconfirmed story that Cayuga's first County Fair was held in Weedsport, as early as the middle 1840's! There was a half mile race track at the north-west corner of West Brutus Street and Oakland Road as early as 1864. In 1877 the North Cayuga Agricultural Society started holding fairs at the above site. An undated paper by an unknown author reveals some of the characteristics of the fair grounds. "The grounds extended west beyond the small creek which crossed the grounds. The grounds were pretty well encircled by a half mile race track. Horses, cattle, hogs and sheep sheds were located west of the track.

A board fence completely enclosed the grounds. The race horses were housed in the north east corner of a large exhibition hall which was located in the center of the track. The grandstand stood on the north side of the track. Orson Berlew and earlier Isaac Upham owned the property where the fairgrounds was located. A hotel on the premises occupied the site of the Ross Marshall home at 8901 Oakland Road. The two entrances to the grounds were located at the east end and when the Weedsport Watsons played home games, home plate was located on the race track between the entrances. The fair buildings were removed about 1896-97 and Duane Titus used some of the lumber to build his home at 2725 Bell Street. Several local residents owned race horses during the period which doubtless had much to do with sustaining interest in the track.

The best known horse in the area was probably Chelsea D., owned by Chelsea Demmon who operated the farm at 2517 Demmon Road. E. G. Treat owned two horses, Red Jacket and Brutus Girl. Other race horse owners in the community included George Stickle, Willard and PhLllip Sturgls, James Berlew, James Treat and George Palmer.

The Cayuga County Agricultural Society started holding fairs in 1840 and was still active as late as 1884 when the 44th Annual Fair was held in Auburn.

In 1900 the Cayuga County Fair, operated by the Cayuga County Agricultural Corporation was holding fairs at Moravia. It was functioning in 1915.

In 1946 a new venture in community cooperation was launched by Howard Finley, Vocational Agriculture Teacher at Weedsport Central School. It was called the Weedsport Community Fair. Finley and his Future Farmers of America boys had been conducting a school fair for several years and it was felt that the project could be expanded to involve more than the school group. Also, the Farmers' Picnic, Old Home Week and the Merchants Trade Fair were operating only dilatorily and feebly - so why not combine forces, add some others and proceed from there.

Accordingly a board of officials were elected with Finley as President; Bert L. O'Hara, Vice President; Dwight A. Goodwin, Secre~W; Lloyd D. Phelps, Treasurer. Winthrop D. Hamilton, W. F. Lsmpman and Charles Shepherd served as trustees.

The fair was held at the Jackson Street school. Exhibits in the gymnasium, concessions on the bus court and cattle in the bus garage. The parade started from Guy H. Lanphere's Chevrolet Garage and moved up Seneca Street. A baseball game with Port Byron, dancing in the school gym; fireman's balloon water fight and Edward Robinson dropped in with his new helicopter. The fair was a rousing success.

The next year class rooms in the school building were used by local merchants for displaying their wares and a long line of farm equipment was displayed on the athletic field. Fireworks became a feature and a merry-go-round was added. Churches and other organizations built booths in the bus court and sold food and other commodities. Bingo was a popular concession.

By 1960 the fair was losing ground to television and other diversions; and the Weedsport Community Fair along with other similar institutions, including many county fairs, were going out of business. The 1960 Weedsport fair was the last. While not intended to be a profit-making organization, a treasury balance of $1,300 was turned over to the Weedsport Library when the fair corporation was dissolved in 1971.