Danbury Fair Timeline
Over the years, many people attended the Danbury Fair. It was reported that in 1899 there were only 23 people who did not attend the fair. They were all in jail!
1869 - The First Annual Fair and Cattle Show of the Danbury Farmers and Manufacturers Society held the fair in a rough one story building and a small tent borrowed from the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
1872 - All people may exhibit and compete for Premiums
1873 - The best Ruta Baga Turnips won $3.00; Best silk suit won $2.00, and the Best singing canary won $1.00
1875 - It was decided to erect a new exhibition building
1878 - Electricity came to the fair for the exhibitors of machinery
1879 - The New York and New England railroad brought people to the fair
1880 - Horse trotting races came to the fair. The prizes totaled $6,000.
1881 - Children competed for the most attractive cage of pet animals and the best exhibition of butterflies
1883 - Butter contests and paintings on Banjos brought a prize of $1.00
1885 - Farmers brought 45 varieties of apples for competition, 31 kinds of pears, 56 kinds of grapes, and 23 kinds of cake
1887 - You could attend the fair for 25 cents
1888 - The sale of strong liquor at the fair was prohibited
1889 - Many new attractions were added: restaurants, shooting galleries, museums, performing dogs, ring throwing, doll-targets, educated parrots, fortune tellers, muscle-testers, concerts, organs, singers, dancers, knife-swallowers, fire-eaters, magicians, merry-go-rounds, photograph galleries, and a dancing pavilion
1890 - Daring Donald's hot air balloon failed.
1891 - Two detectives watched the fair to catch pickpockets
1895 - The trolley track was laid to the fairgrounds
At least 1000 people worked at the fair
1896 - The first horseless carriage to be seen in Danbury was shown at the fair
1902 - KiKo, the Philippine wild man was a feature of the fair
1904 - Automobile race and a motorcycle race was added to the fair
1907 - A milking machine was on show
1908 - The fairgrounds were electrified
Captain Baldwin's huge airship circled above the heads of the audience
1909 - The famous car, the "Fiat Cyclone" traveled at a rate of 70 miles an hour
1911 - Hammond made a thrilling airplane flight in dangerous winds
1914 - The last horse carriage show
1916 - The main building of the fair was destroyed by fire.
1917 - Suffragettes marched at the fair
World War I equipment attracted attention
1918 - The flu epidemic closed the Fair
1922 - A new grandstand was built of steel and cement
1929 - A loudspeaker was added
The Great Walno was shot from a howitzer cannon
1932 - The fair was opened for the first time on a Sunday
1938 - Last half-mile car race was won by Ted Harris
1940 - First full season of midget car racing
1941 - Fire destroys the big top
1951 - Modified stock car racing came to the fair and continued until the end of the fair in 1981
1954 - The telephone answering machine was introduced
Corporal Edward Davey blew 75 smoke rings in a contest judged by actor Ernie Kovacs
1963 - "Walter P. Sweet Day" honoring retiring superintendent of Danbury schools after 22 years
1964 - Last year of midget car racing
1968 - Cheetah the Chimp smoked a cigarette while eating several hot dogs and drinking soda from a bottle held between his feet
1969 - "Great Danbury State Fair Coloring Book" by William Bridgham was published
1974 - Charles Ives Centennial Concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein was held on the fairgrounds in July
1979 - Cheetah the Chimp's record was tied by a football player from a local school
1981 - The last Danbury Fair
1982 - Six-day auction of all the 12,000 items at the fair
The fairgrounds were sold to Wilmorite for $24 million dollars
revised 10/10/09
