THE TULSA STATE FAIR! *
State and county fairs have been organized in the United States since 1841, when the first such gathering was organized in Syracuse, New York. Food — both its production and enjoyment — has been their centerpiece from the very beginning. The judging of livestock in the U.S. dates to the 19th century.
(click on photos to enlarge)
State and county fairs have been organized in the United States since 1841, when the first such gathering was organized in Syracuse, New York. Food — both its production and enjoyment — has been their centerpiece from the very beginning. The judging of livestock in the U.S. dates to the 19th century.
(click on photos to enlarge)

The Tulsa County Free Fair began in 1903 at the Western Association baseball park at Archer and Boston. As you can see, horse racing was very popular. This postcard, postmarked June 20, 1909 is inscribed with “Fastest race ever run in the southwest, Tulsa 5/29/09 Maud G.” Maud won her owner $1,000 in this race.


In 1923, thanks to a land donation from J.E. Crosbie, the fair was moved to a portion of the present Expo Square between 15th and 21st Streets.










*Tulsa TV Memories has the actual Tulsa State Fair theme I am referring to in my title. Click right under the fantastic 1965 fair ticket to listen to Here's To The Fair!
credits: exposquare.com, time.com and okstate.edu
8 comments:
Great post. Lots of research for the data and photographs.
Thanks Yogi! I do love research ;-)
Hello, great article on the history of the Tulsa State Fair. My family came to Oklahoma in 1968. I will never forget it I was 5 and my dad was an engineer working for Skelly Oil. We stayed with a family on our first trip to Tulsa who took us to the Tulsa Fair. So that huge Driller is forever etched in my mind. Good Memories.
Hi. Great post! I provided a link to it on my post about my visit to the fair today. See http://cindysclipboard.blogspot.com/2009/10/tulsa-state-fair-1st-2009-visit.html
I love your blog! I love reading the history and seeing the photos of the town I love.
Thanks Gina and Cindy for the great feedback! It makes the time invested all worthwhile!
Nancy
I have pics of my grandfather (J Fred Lawrence - Police and Fire Commissioner 1948 - 50) and grandmother Mildred riding horses on the fairgrounds back in the 40's or 50's. They lived just down the street at 26th Pl and Pittsburg where he built four homes.
James Lawrence
CoolKay of Countyfairgrounds.net - "I just interviewed the Tulsa 2010 State Fair" It was most interesting to find this post to link the interview to as a lot of people I am sure would like to know a little more about the history of this great fair. Your article was very informative and I really enjoyed the pictures too.
Hey Nancy, my name is Matt Gleason. I'm a feature writer for the Tulsa World. I'm working on a piece about the Tulsa State Fair's history. Give me a holler when you get a chance.
matt.gleason@tulsaworld.com
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