By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Smack in the middle of the northern Cincinnati suburb of Carthage sits nearly 30 acres of green space, in a sea of industry and commerce. Fronted by the busy Vine Street thoroughfare and less than a mile from Interstate 75, this oasis is prime development land.

Or would be, that is, if it didn’t house the Hamilton County Agricultural Society, producers of the annual Hamilton County Fair.
“There has been a lot of talk about relocating this fair to the western part of the county towards Harrison, but thus far it’s been all talk,” said William Hammond, now in his 22nd year as superintendent of grounds of the 153-year-old fair. “Moving has been mentioned a lot by the fair board but no action has been taken.”

The Hamilton County Fair is among the oldest county fairs in Ohio. Nestled among the villages of Carthage, Hartwell and Elmwood Place, more inner city children attend this fair than any other in the state. Attendees of this fair know more about computer chips than cow chips.

This fair’s setting prompted fair officials to deem it as a “county fair for an urban society.” Most farmland has been pressed to the western part of the county, thanks to industrial and commercial sprawl. For instance, harness racing was once a main attraction at this fair but the recent construction of the Ronald Reagan Highway just north of the fairgrounds put an end to it. The land was needed to construct the highway.

“There is still agriculture in the county, but it’s all going away,” Hammond said. “Hamilton County has built up so much and it’s just the times we’re living in. Our 4-H program is doing quite well, but it’s not as big as in other counties.”

Hammond adds that inner city patrons comprise most of the attendance figures at this fair.

“Our number-one focus is to get all types of animals at our fair,” he said. “How many inner city kids get to see a rabbit, let alone pet one?” One of the key attractions each year at this fair is the milking parlor, where visitors get the chance to milk a live cow.
The Carthage Fair, as it was once known, was founded in the once dominant agricultural community that surrounded Cincinnati. The importance of farming to the area led to the need to pass on ideas of new agricultural techniques and machinery, as well as tried-and-true practices handed down from the ages.

As industry and the need to bring workers into the area increased, Cincinnati expanded. The Carthage Fair – renamed the Hamilton County Fair – changed along with the landscape of the greater Cincinnati area.

Today, it is still a distillation of community pride, though its mission has changed. The fair serves to educate an urban population about the importance of agriculture. People living in the city, isolated from the farm lifestyle, come each year by the tens of thousands to learn about the origin of the foods they eat and products they use.
Among Ohio’s oldest fairs? Believe it. The Hamilton County Agricultural Society was founded in 1819. Its first president was William Henry Harrison – also a United States president – who was active in establishing the Society and laying the groundwork for an organization that was so important in teaching farmers the technology of the day.

In 1853, the current fairgrounds in Carthage were chosen as the permanent site of what would become the Hamilton County Fair. The fair was canceled in 1861 and 1862 as a result of the Civil War. In 1918 the grounds were used as a National Guard training ground for World War I.

After World War II, the city of Cincinnati was swept up in the economic and population boom that engulfed the nation. Gradually, the farmland of Hamilton County gave way to industry and sprawling suburbs. While still important, the agricultural base began to erode.

This did not escape the notice of the Society’s board of directors, which realized its mission was changing. Rather than showcasing the latest farming techniques, the Hamilton County Fair was more and more in the business of educating its constituents about life on the farm. More “Agriculture 101” types of events were added to the fair, as it was determined to serve the changing population.
The fair runs from July 30-Aug. 3. Visitors can enter free Wednesday-Friday between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The fair is located at 7801 Anthony Wayne in Cincinnati.