Minnehaha County, South Dakota - Chapter 9, 1899

County Fairs

The first uy ricultural fair held in the C(ninty of Minnehaha occupied two days, the 8th and 9th of Octol^er, 1874. There is only a brief record in existence as to its doint>-s, but it is possible it may be complete thoug^h it is brief. It is important, however, as bein.o- the iirst fair held in the county.

The societ}' was called the Minnehaha County A<*-ricultural Society. Artemas Gale was president, G. J. Skinner secretary and C. K. Howard treasurer. Porter P. Peck was chief marshal, and there was quite a number of persons scattered about the count\- w ho were vice presidents of this society.

There were 112 premiums advertised to be paid to the exliibitors, amountino- in all to S77.25. Althouo-h the weather was fine and the attendance g"ood, and all the o'fficials lookino- carefully after their respective departments, still the meritorious exhibits were so limited that onlv twentv-eig-ht premiums were awarded, amounting- in all to S21.75. - -

It has been so long- since this fair delig-hted the residents of the county that it has passed from the memory of the participants whether the premiums were paid in full or not.

In 1882, after the matter of fairs had remained dormant for years, the people of Sioux Falls awakened to the fact that an exposition was desirable, and an org-anization was perfected called the Sioux Falls Exposition. (xreat preparations were made for the event. (t rounds were secured s(nith of the citv and a race track made in a corn field. Four halls and an amphitheatre were erected, stalls for horses and cattle, and sheds for sheep and hog-s were constructed, over 275,000 feet of lumber being- used. The fair was held September 13, 14 and 15, the exhibits were quite larg-e, and there was a g-ood attendance, but a hig-h wind made it very uncomfortable. It was not a financial success, and the premiums could not be paid in full. W. C. Boyce was the most active person in this movement, and became the secretar}' of the association; R. F. Pettig-rew was elected president, but not being- able to g-ive his attention to the enterprise R. M. Crawford of Brooking-s was elected to the place.

In 1883 the second annual fair of the Sioux Palls Exposition was held in Sioux Falls September 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. In order to make this fair a success the people of Minnehaha county worked with g-reat vigor not only to secure a large attendance but also large exhibits, and to give the people who should attend, full compensation for their time and money. Six thousand dollars was offered in prizes and purses, one thousand dollars being for one race. New buildings were erected, the amphitheatre enlarged, the stalls and sheds for stock were increased in number, the race track put in good condition, and excursion rates procured over the railroads for passengers, and special freight rates for stock and other articles for exhibition. The weather was favorable and the attendance at the fair, although not what was expected, was reasonably good. It was during this fair that a man by the name of Clark appeared on the grounds with what looked to be an ordinary farm horse, and entered him in a running race, making a good deal of boast about how fast the horse was, and that he would back the horse for a small amount to win the race. He was accommodated, and after the race the sports handed over to the owner of "Ben Lee" about S6()0. Bob Kneebs was on the wrong side of the betting in this race. This fair was not a financial success, the management being about S2,00(> behind.

In February, 1884, several farmers of Minnehaha county met in the office of G. J. Skinner in Sioux Falls to take the initiatory steps towards the organization of the Sioux Valley Farmers' and Dairymen's Association. This association was finally organized with M. T. Hogaboom as president. During the summer the management determined to have an exposition on September 24, 25 and 26, at the driving park in Sioux Falls.

Quite extensive preparations were made to make this fair a success. The weather on the first day was all that could be desired, but the attendance was small. The second day the wind blew a gale and was one of the most disagreeable days ever experienced in Sioux Falls. The third day it began raining in the morning and it poured all day. Further comments would be superfluous.

The next fair in the county was held on September 15, 10, 17 and 18, 1885, at the driving park in Sioux Falls. During the winter preceding an agricultural society had been organized in Sioux Falls called the Southeastern Dakota Agricultural Society, and its first exposition was held as above. The weather was favorable, the exhibits good, the races satisfactory, and the management, after having paid all the expenses and premiums, had $29. 9<) left in the treasurv.

On September 22, 23 and 24, 1886, the Southeastern Dakota Agricultural Society held its second annual fair at the base ball park on Duluth avenue between Ninth and Tenth streets. Temporary buildings had been erected, but there was no race track. The exhibits were quite large and the attendance good. A novel feature of this fair was the great number of brief addresses made by prominent gentlemen of Sioux Falls. Jvidge J. F. Kellev of Ohio also delivered an address on the last day.

' Since 1886, three State fairs, in 1891-2-5, and the Tri-state fair inl896, have been held in Sioux Falls, but there has been no County fair organization attempted.

The ley-islative assembly of the Territory of Dakota in 1885, created a department of ao-riculture for the promotion of ajjfriculture. horticulture, manufactures and domestic arts.

The mana^-ement of this department was entrusted to a l)oard styled the Territorial Board of Agriculture, to consist of one president and a vice president from each lej^islative district of the territory, to be elected at Mitchell on the 17th day of June, 1885, and thereafter on the fair g-rounds on Wednesday of the week of the annual fair, by the deleo-ates chosen by the several ag-ricultural societies in counties where they existed, and in counties where there were no such societies, the delegates were to be appointed by the county commissioners of such counties. By the provisions of this law each county was entitled to three deleg^ates. The officers of the board were to serve without pay, except the secretar}^ and treasurer, but were to receive mileao^e one way between their homes and the ])lace of the meetin.i>-.

In 1887, the territorial legislature amended the law of 1885, creating two districts, which were to be managed by two boards styled District Boards of Agriculture. District number one comprised all that part of the Territor}- of Dakota lying south of the seventh standard parallel, and district number tw^o all that portion lying north of said parallel. The only change made in reference to the officers of the boards, their election and compensation, was to pay the members of the boards, in addition to mileage, their actual expenses when in attendance upon the meetings.

In 1889, the territorial legislature appropriated S10,000, to be paid in equal moieties to the district boards, to be used only in the payment of premiums and expenses contingent upon the holding of annual fairs.

The first legislature of the State of South Dakota in 1890, made no amendments to the law, and made no appropriation to the state board of agriculture.

In 1891, the legislature appropriated to the state board of agriculture the annual sum of S2,000 for the payment of premiums and contingent expenses for holding annual fairs for the vears 1891 and 1892.

In 1895, the legislature made no appropriation whatever, and defeated a bill providing for the payment of the indebtedness of the board, amounting to a little over S5,()00. At this session of the legislature a bill was passed authorizing the board of agriculture to locate the state annual fair at such place as the board might think best, for a term of not less than five nor more than ten years.

At a meeting of the state board of agriculture on the 19th day of March, 1895, at Huron, it was decided to locate the state annual fair at Sioux Falls for the term of six years, and on the 22d day of March the board entered into a contract with Clark G. Coats for the old fair o-rounds near his residence, and with certain citizens of Sioux Falls for the annual payment of certain sums to the board, in consideration of holding- the state fairs at Sioux Palls.

The officers of the state board of agriculture in lcS95 were Oscar P. Kemp of Watertown, president; J. E. Piatt of Clark, treasurer; Morris H. Kelly of Aberdeen, secretary.

The annual state fair for 1895 commenced at Sioux Falls on September 30, and was an interesting- fair in many respects, and we cannot foreg-o the pleasure of placing- before our readers some of its most salient features.

Owing- to some acts of commission and omission that occurred between the board and the other parties to the contract of March, 1895, matters were g-reatly delayed in making- the necessary preparations for the exposition, and when the real work commenced it had to be done in a hurry.

So far as Secretary Kelly is concerned, the writer wishes to place upon record that he acted as promptly as circumstances would permit, and came to Sioux Falls several weeks before the fair and remained there most of the time attending- to the duties of his office to the best of his ability.

If the management were unfortunate in getting- the fair advertised, a committee composed of Sioux Falls business men made up for the defect by putting in operation such plans as informed all the people who would naturally visit the exposition that there was to be a fair held in Sioux Falls, and that it would be a fair such as had never before been seen in South Dakota.

The weather was simply perfect, and the exhibits surpassed anything- ever brought together in South Dakota. It was not a horseracing affair, but a grand exhibit of the products of the state. Some of the county exhibits were exceeding-ly fine, and it Avould have been creditable to any county in the United States to have made an equally fine display of its products.

The art hall was tastily decorated by a committee composed of Mrs. W. G. George, Miss "Belle Beveridg-e and Miss Alice Phillips, and was filled with such a fine display of pictures and textile fabrics that made Dakotians proud of their state. The business men of Sioux Falls had erected an arcade on the fair grounds, forty feet wide and two hundred feet long, which was filled with a magnificent display of g'oods. It was elegantly decorated, and much credit is due to a committee of ladies of Sioux Falls, of which Mrs. T. J. Foley was chairman, for its artistic arrangement.

At five o'clock in the afternoons of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the fair week, balloon ascensions were made from the grounds in front of the grand stand by Professor W. Z. Love of Indianapolis, Ind., which were declared b\' all who witnessed them to be the finest ever seen in this locality. The Brookings band, the best in the state, the attractive Juvenile band of Mitchell and the Santee Indian band, composed of Sioux Indians in costume, furnished as fine music as anv state fair could wish for.

What the fair manag-ement failed to procure in the way of special attractions the citizens of Sioux Palls supplied throuo-h the efforts of a special committee, with J. Tomlinson, Jr., as chairman. A banc[uet to the editors of the state; a barbeque for the farmers, on tlie island; a bicycle tournament; parades of the travelintjf men, the Knig-hts of P\'thias, the Shriners and other secret societies, and illumination of the streets of the city during" fair week, were some of the principal attractions provided by the city of Sioux Palls for her gfuests.

The attendance was larg-e, but the fair was not a financial success, and the board was sev-erely criticised by the people and newspapers for not paying- the premiums in full.

The writer was in this boat, being- one of the members of the board, and has nothing- to say by w^ay of extenuation or vindication of himself, except that he never labored more faithfully for the success of any enterprise and never received so small compensation for services performed.

Thp Tri-State Fair

The attendance during- the state fair at Sioux Falls in 1895 was so larg-e, and the benefits resulting- therefrom so apparent to the business men in the citv that early in the spring- of 1896 a public meeting- was called to consider the expediency of org-anizingf an association for the purpose of having- a fair in Sioux Palls during- the fall of that year. The sentiment was nearly unanimous in favor of the plan, and after several meeting's an org-anization was perfected which was called the Tri-State Pair Association. J. Tomlinson, Jr., was elected president, and had associated with him the best business men in the city. Prom the outset it was voted that the fair should be a success financially, and to secure this beyond question a cash deposit of five thousand dollars was demanded by the manag-ement from the citizens of Sioux Palls to secure the payment of the premiums offered and expenses incurred by the association. The amount was raised, and the association went to work with great energfy and enthusiasm to g-ive the people the best fair ever held in the state. In the matter of premiums a new departure was decided upon. Xo individual premiums were offered by the association for the exhibit of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, poultry, g-rain, seed and veg-etables, in fact for anything-, except county agricultural exhibits as such, and one hundred and fifty dollars for butter and cheese. Private individuals in the city offered special premiums, but they were limited to a small class of exhibits. In place of the usual exhibits and premiums for the same, the manag-ement determined upon presenting- some rare attractions to secure the attendance necessar\- to insure success.

The first day Buffalo Bill w ith his Wild West Show appeared on the g-rounds. There was a larg-e crowd in attendance, and when he left he took with him a larg-e per cent of the people's half dollars that

Hig"h-divino- men and horses, balloon ascensions, bicycle contests, horse racing-, elk trotting-, and shooting- exhibitions were the principal specialities on the g-rounds, and the city at nig-ht was g-randly illuminated and the people entertained at banquets and by political speakers of national reputation. The exhibits were fair and in some respects admirable, especially in the art department which was under the manag-ement of Arthur C. Phillips, who had labored industriously for several weeks to make it attractive. Nothing- was left undone to secure a larg-e attendance of the people, but notwithstanding- the mig-hty efforts put forth it was not a financial success.

Sioux Falls Carnival

During- the year 1897, the people of Sioux Palls took a much needed rest, and no effort was made in the county to have an ag-ricultural fair or exposition of any kind whatever. But during- the spring- and early summer of 1898, under the inspiration of the Business Men's Leag-ue, the business men of Sioux Palls decided to have a carnival during- the fall. An org-anization was perfected, and those who had the project in charg-e worked industriously to make it a success. Wednesday, the 12th day of October was fixed upon as the opening- day. Various attractions had been secured, and the carnival was well advertised. But the 12th of October proved to be anything- but an ideal day for carnival sports, in fact, the rain prevented the carrying- out of the prog-ram. The next day, Thursday, there was an improvement in the weather and during- the evening- the harvest parade (postponed from the evening- before) and the bicycle parade were merg-ed, and made a splendid display. Priday, German day, was a success, and althoug-h the outside attendance was not as larg-e as expected, there were at least four or five thousand strang-ers in the city. Pootball g-ames, balloon ascensions, professional bicycle races, cake walks, and, best of all, an industrial parade Friday evening, broug-ht Sioux Falls' first carnival to such a successful conclusion that for a few years at least, an annual carnival will be one of the events looked forward to by the residents of the Queen City and vicinity.

Racing And Race Horses

Late in the seventies there was a half-mile race track on section seven, in Wayne township, owned by Frank Porde. The people of Sioux Falls would occasionally g-o out there and have a few hours' sport. At that time there were no fast horses in the county, comparatively speaking-, but it was on this track that the g-rading--up process commenced. In 1882, when the Sioux Palls Exposition was formed, one of the features of this enterprise was the making- of a half-mile race track, and during- the fairs of that year and 1883 some g-ood racing-, both trotting- and running-, was had on this track. These races undoubtedly inspired some of the lovers of g-ood horses in Sioux Falls to secure a better class of race horses. In any event.

it was about this time that several parties in the city beo^an to purchase hig-h-bred trotting* horses, and some of them have attracted more than local attention, particularly Moody, Fanchon and Little Mike. Prairie Lily, a young- pacing- filly that secured a national reputation in 18*)5, was bred in Sioux Palls by J. W. Boyce, and M. Cxrig-sby's Pinta, a pacing- colt, also won distinction in fast classes the same season.

But to g-o back a little and consecutively follow the different schemes which have materialized in Sioux Falls for the training- of race horses. The exposition in 1883 having- proved a financial failure, the horsemen secured the holding- of a turfmen's cong-ress at the Cataract House on the 5th day of March, 1884, and organized the "Sioux City and Dakota Circuit." On the 14th day of the same month the Sioux Falls Driving- Park association was org-anized with a capital of S20,0()0, and the old g-rounds were fitted up for the use of the circuit. On the 11th and 12th days of June following-, a race meeting was held on these grounds. The attendance was fair, and the entertainment good, although no fast time was made. The next meeting was held June 17, 18 and 19, 1885, and like the one the year before, it afforded the public a great amount of pleasure, but was not a financial success, and the g-rounds were finally disposed of. Thi' fastest time made during these races was 2:26 >^.

In the summer of 1888 C. G. Coats decided to build a half-mile track on his farm south of the city, and on the 21st day of September he had it completed and ready for use. Some pretty good races were had on this track. In 1891 the location of the state fair was secured by Sioux Falls, and Mr. Coats, at great expense, built a kite track upon A'hich races were had during the fair of that year and the year following.

Early in 1893 a few enterprising- gentlemen in Sioux Falls organized the Sioux Falls Driving association, and rented the fair grounds - tracks and buildings - of Mr. Coats for a term of years, and proceeded at once to make arrangements for a great trotting meeting to be held July 18, 19 and 20 following. Quite large purses were offered, but at the appointed time the attendance was not as large as was expected, considering the inducements offered by the association, some of the fastest horses in the Northwest being on the grounds.

The following year the association made great efforts for a successful trotting meeting. It was well advertised, good purses offered, fast horses secured, the time opportune and the weather fine, but it was not a financial success. This meeting was held on July 10, 11, 12 and 13, and the best time made was by the pacer Ontonion, 2:09 H. The loss to the association was so large that no further attempts have since been made to give the people of Sioux Falls an opportunity of seeing- good races at home.