By KAREN BINDER
Illinois Correspondent DU QUOIN, Ill. — This year, the Illinois State Fair in Springfield celebrated a “Cream of the Crop” theme while its sister fair, the Du Quoin State Fair, kicked off its celebration with a salute to “Corn Dogs and Hogs.”
That’s right; Illinois enjoys two state fairs, each with its own theme, bandstand lineup, ag shows, exhibitions and more. While the one which ran Aug. 12-22 in Springfield is the official and first state fair, there’s a much smaller version located about four hours south of there, in Du Quoin in Perry County, and it runs Aug. 27-Sept. 6.
It was here in 1923 that William R. Hayes bought an old coal strip mine next to his 30-acre tract and began building a fairgrounds.
“The fact is, Mr. Hayes labeled the fair with the intent to have the quality and reputation of the Illinois State Fair. It was a self-named state fair. The state never entered the picture until 1985,” explained Fred Huff, a former fair manager and a local historian who continues to work for the fair.
What Hayes created was a park-like setting that boasted a planting of 1,400 trees, a grandstand, barns (the first one is still standing and in use) and a horse track.
The result is what some 300,000 people are expected to enjoy this year at the 1,200-acre fair complex, now with an 18,000-seat grandstand, a track to host horses, racecars and motorcycles, 12 lakes and 30 miles of blacktop roads.
In the center of the grounds is the Hayes Mansion, a white-columned house behind a wrought-iron fence that the governor and other dignitaries use while visiting the fair.
Notable events in the fair’s past include the Hambletonian harness race, a renowned event that has since moved to New York. The World Trotting Derby was cancelled this spring amid economic pressures.
The original grandstand stood just within the fence near the entrance and burned in the 1940s. It was moved to its current location toward the back of the fairgrounds. A half-mile horse trotting practice track was built in the old grandstand footprint and continues to be used today, with the addition of VIPs using the track’s center as a helicopter pad.
Hayes was known as an adept businessman and attracted investors to help build the fair with all the amenities. The fair’s website states “he foresaw the event as a prestigious, statewide attraction that ‘would be improved yearly as long as the fair exists.’”
The early fairs featured harness racing, auto racing, a dog show, an auto show and even a “flapper” fashion show. There also was a flying circus with stunt pilots, parachute jumpers and a dirigible from Scott Air Force Base near Belleville.
The Du Quoin State Fair has notched some firsts: it staged the first night horse show under electric lights, and the first night stage show, starring the Music Box Revue, in 1929.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the fair attracted such headliners as Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr., Alabama, Willie Nelson, Jim Nabors and the Bee Gees. Even the likes A. J. Foyt, Tony Bettenhausen and Mario Andretti know the fair.
Hayes started his business career in soft drinks, from a pushcart to establishing Coca-Cola bottling and distributing, a dairy products company and a chain of 19 movie theaters.
The fairgrounds has changed hands over the years, with the state of Illinois taking ownership in 1986. This year’s grandstand lineup includes Lee Ann Womack, B.J. Thomas, Ray Price, Cinderella, Styx and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
For more information, call 618-542-1515 or go to www.duquoinstatefair. info |
