MILLERSBURG, Ohio — By 2016, the new Holmes County Fairgrounds will be a reality, according to Kerry Taylor, president of the Holmes County Agricultural Society.
"We are nearly finished with the excavation phase of the project, and we are working on grading and seeding the area," he said. Taylor said constructing the perfect site for the fairgrounds involved moving more than half a million cubic yards of dirt.
"There really aren’t too many flat places in Holmes County where we would be out of a flood plain."
Getting out of the flood plain was one of the main reasons the Holmes County Agricultural Society undertook the project to relocate the fairgrounds further west of Millersburg to higher ground. Over the years the current fairgrounds has been subject to flooding; in fact, it has been flooded twice so far this year. The historic flood of 1969 almost washed the fairgrounds off the map, and for decades after flooding caused by heavy rain or melting snow continued to create havoc for the fair board.
But when severe flooding in June 2004 dumped mud and debris on the fairgrounds only weeks before the fair opened, and along with flooding issues over the past several years resulted in significant damages and the loss of three buildings, fair directors and public officials said "enough." They started looking for a solution to a potentially dangerous problem.
"We looked at changing the water patterns to see if we could stay in the old location," said Taylor. "We looked at everything from filling in low spots, experimented with dams and dikes, even water diversion systems."
In the end, everyone involved reached the same conclusion: They needed to find a new location for the fairgrounds, which is located in a flood plain along Killbuck Creek.
The new fairgrounds will be located on an 80-acre parcel donated by local businessman Paul Weaver. A church was constructed at the other end of the parcel. The fairgrounds shares a drive with the church, which is nearing completion and will allow the public access to the fairgrounds to see the work in progress by mid-June.
"We have the stormwater retention system in place and water and sanitary lines have been run from the village to the fairgrounds," Taylor explained.
Construction has also been completed on a tower that will serve as the primary source of water for the fairgrounds as well as a secondary source of water for the village of Millersburg. Taylor said the tower was constructed because there wasn’t enough water pressure to support the sprinkler systems in the buildings.
The fair board knew moving the fairgrounds wasn’t going to be cheap, but community support has been strong. Among the first donations to the project were memorial gifts designated by the family of Mike Smith, a longtime fair enthusiast. Smith’s children and grandchildren have been actively involved in the junior fair livestock program and felt giving money to the fair project would be a good way to honor their father and grandfather.
For more information on the project, visit http://holmescountyfair.com
