About Oldham County Fair

THE FIRST OLDHAM COUNTY FAIR: The original Oldham County Fair was held on July 4, 1933 on a small farm located on US 42 at Skylight with a race track and a few horse barns owned by Mr. Ed Axton. The fair was a huge success with 2,500 people in attendance. Proceeds went to the Liberty School P.T.A. The Fair started primarily as a horse show. Quickly growing to include livestock competition, booths, and displays, it became very popular. The Fair continued to be held at Ed Axton’s farm for several years becoming treasured annual event.

OLDHAM COUNTY FAIR MOVES TO PRESENT LOCATION: In 1946, Mr. Axton decided to reclaim his farm, and asked that the fair no longer be held on his property. During this time, a group of six men in the county wanted to recognize Oldham County 's WWI and WWII veterans. In May, 1946, Philip H. Hollenbach, Forest L. Nelson, A. D. Hampton, Jesse C. Dixon, James A. Edwards, and W. W. Head bought 19.43 acres and formed the Oldham County Park Association which ultimately became the present location of the Oldham County Fair and the American Legion Post.

LOTS TO DO: There was much to be accomplished before the first fair opened on the park grounds in 1946. Again, everyone pitched in. Farmers helped by bringing their equipment and hired men to build a horse ring and roads. A local farmer made his barns available for horses during the fair. A large tent was rented from Kentucky Tent and Awning Company which was utilized for booth space. The Park Board members signed a loan for $2000.00 to finish work started in preparing the grounds for the fair. The first Oldham County fair on the Park grounds was a fantastic success.

BUILDING THE FAIR: The Merchants Building was constructed the following year for booths and displays. A cattle barn, and later a horse barn were also constructed. Consistent with the Park's original purpose, 1.46 acres was leased and later deeded to the American Legion Post #39, Incorporated. Eventually, the Oldham County Park Service Deeded the 17.97 acres to the Oldham County Fair Association.

PRIDE OF OLDHAM COUNTY : The horse show was second only to the State Fair Horse Show. Oldham County regularly had the highest percentage of national 4-H winners in the state. From 300 to 500 young girls competed in rug-making, canning, frozen foods, clothing, refinished furniture, and home improvements. The 4-H exhibitors from the Oldham County Fair had 98 state and 29 national winners in thirty years. In the Women's Division, the Homemakers had various competitions in projects that they had been working on during the past year. The Homemakers also offered home-cooked meals at a reasonable price in the Dining Room. People recall going to the fair just to eat the meals the Homemakers prepared. The Cattle Show, Pet Show, Carnival, Baby Contest, Beauty Contest, Booths, and Exhibits made the Fair a big success.

AGING FAIR SLOWS DOWN: The Fair remained the pride of Oldham County for many years. However, by 1970 the popularity of country fairs in general was waning and attendance began to drop off.

IMPROVEMENTS: In 1979 the Oldham County Fair received a $50,000 State grant for the improvement of the fairgrounds. The Fair Board, as well as many in the community, worked at improving the fairgrounds with renewed enthusiasm. Through the dedication of many committed volunteers over the years it has provided a Country Fair and various other events and entertainment to the people Oldham County .

GOING STRONG: The Oldham County Fair continues to run on a meager budget and lots of volunteer labor. The Fair remains committed to providing the community with quality, wholesome, family entertainment and a country fair atmosphere. After over 70 years of the Oldham County Fair, the most important thing it has given us is the life long memories of the good times we have had there. The job of the Oldham County Fair Association is to keep those memories coming.

If you wish to see a more complete history, see Fair_History.doc on the Event Document page on this site.