From 1942-1944, the State Fair used a scaled-back version of the exposition with 4-H competitions only. The State Fairgrounds was again requisitioned for wartime use when the Army Air Forces used the grounds during World War II. A new fair board, established in 1947, included representatives elected from 11 agricultural districts and 5 members appointed by the governor. The agriculture board guided fair operations until 1925 when the Indiana General Assembly created the Indiana State Fair Board. As the “better babies” movement encouraged scientific motherhood and infant hygiene as routes to human improvement, this contest also had negative connotations because of its connection to eugenics, but by the early 1930s it had evolved into a regular exhibit. The Hoosier Hundred, a 100-mile dirt track race, premiered in 1953.Īnother feature was the Better Babies Contest, begun in 1920 to encourage improved hygiene and education for young children. Growing public fascination with the automobile brought auto exhibits, auto polo (1918), and, in the 1930s, auto-daredevil thrill shows, and midget auto races. The first annual balloon race was launched in 1975. Developments in aviation led to the appearance of a dirigible (1906), monoplane demonstrations (1914), and hot-air balloons. Over the decades, the State Fair captured and showcased the latest in science and technology for fairgoers. The new fairgrounds, containing 72 buildings, a 6,000-seat grandstand, and a mile race track, officially opened on September 19, 1892. Alexander and Son architectural firm to supervise the construction of the fair’s facilities on the site’s 214 acres. Voss farm, located two miles northeast of the Camp Morton grounds at East 38 th Street and Fall Creek Parkway. In November 1891, the board sold its Camp Morton grounds for $275,100 to three Indianapolis businessmen and purchased the Jay G. With Indianapolis’ continued northward growth, the Board of Agriculture eventually found that it needed even more space for the annual fair. In 1870, the board attempted to bar “all side shows, auction stands, fat women, white negroes, snake shows, and all classes of similar exhibitions,” demonstrating the rampant discrimination at play in sideshow and exhibitor culture that the state fair would grapple with for years to come. In 1868, the State Fair returned to its rebuilt Camp Morton location, which by 1872, included the imposing Grand Hall Building composed of one million bricks, designed by Edwin May, for the 30-day fair and exposition.ĭuring these years, however, the state board expressed increasing concern over the quality and reputability of sideshows, vendors, and auctioneer stands, which resulted in the licensing of exhibitors. Fort Wayne and Terre Haute hosted the exhibition in 18, respectively. The State Fair returned to Military Park for the years 1862-1864. The Otis Grove grounds, renamed Camp Morton, were used by Indiana troops, housed Confederate prisoners of war, and served as the site for a Union hospital. However, in 1861, the board sought a new site for the fair upon the outbreak of the Civil War and the fairgrounds being requisitioned for military use.
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