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Clipping from an unknown newspaper dated 26 September 1926. CATLIN FAIR FIRST EFFORT TO GIVE ENTERTAINMENT ON LARGE SCALE FOR CITIZENRY Was First County Fair in Eastern Illinois Being Established In 1851--Prizes Consisted of Silverware, Horse Races By Owners For Fun--First Murder There To Catlin is given the honor of having the first county fair in Eastern Illinois. The establishment of the fair dates back in 1851, when a meeting of the leading settlers of the county met in a vacant lot, now the site of the Presbyterian church, in Danville, and discussed the project. Among the promoters of the scheme were Harvey Sodowsky, Samuel Baum, Martin Moudy, P. S. Spencer, Ward Hill Lamon, J. H. Oakwood and Alvan Gilbert. A second meeting was held May 12, 1852, in the court house at Danville, and a permanent organization effected. The first fair was held the following October in the river bottoms, near the site of the Memorial Bridge. No admission fee was charged and the fair lasted two [da]ys. The premiums paid aggregat[ed] $42.85, the highest being $5 for [the] best stallion, which was awarded [to] Harvey Sodowsky. The records [al]so show that Alvan Gilbert received $3 for best bull and Mrs. Cole 25 cents for best linen stockings. At the meeting Ward Hill Lamon, local law partner of Abraham Lincoln, assisted by John W. Newlon, of Catlin, exhibited a trick monkey and then rode his then famous race horse against his own record. The premium bull exhibited by Colonel Gilbert was purchased by Samuel Frazier. The price paid was $50, and a county newspaper of that date contains a long account of the transaction, claiming that this then unheard of price was directly a result of the fair. At this meeting Hiram Catlett, J. H. Oakwood and James Millikin, afterward a banker at Decatur, who endowed the university that bears his name, but then a sheep raiser in Catlin township, were appointed a committee to perfect the organization and secure suitable ground for the annual exhibitions. Nearly all the fine stock was then owned by men living near Butler's Point, as Catlin then was known, and the committee decided to permanently locate the fair there. A tract of 40 acres west of the present town, and directly across from James Butler's home was secured and the first fair was held in the fall of 1854. Sessions were also held in '55 and '56, and in September of that year the association was incorporated, the county records show the following: "The undersigned will meet at the court house in Danville on the second Saturday of September next for [the] purpose of becoming incorporat[ed] under the name and style of "The [ ... ] Important business will [be trans]acted relative to the next fa[ir] etc. A general attendance is requested" (Signed) J. H. Oakwood, Lawrence Dye, Josiah Sandusky, James Palmer, James Millikin, Martin Moudy, G. W. Pate, A. Y. Harrison, W. M. Payne, A. M. C. Hawes, P. S. Spencer. And then we have the further record: "A majority of the above with others met pursuant to notice and organized by electing William M. Payne president pro tem. and the following committee was then appointed to prepare a constitution, viz.: Jacob H. Oakwood, James Millikin and James Palmer, who reported the following constitution and by-laws, which was adopted." While the association continued to hold their annual fairs on the same grounds, it was not until 1859 that a lease was negotiated with Josiah Sandusky for the grounds. It was for 25 years. For the association Francis Gaines, Jesse Baldwin, C. I. Pate, P. S. Spencer and William P. Chandler signed the lease. In 1878 the association waived their rights under the lease and negotiated another for 20 years with the Sandusky heirs. This was done because the association desired to make a new half-mile track and erect a grandstand and other permanent improvements. D. B. Douglas, W. S. McClenathan, J. H. Oakwood, Alonzo Stearns, William Sandusky and C. M. Baum signed the new lease as directors of the association. The grounds were then fenced, and bleachers and a small floral hall were erected and a one-third mile track made. For the first several years all premiums were paid in silverware, chinaware and cutlery, and among the awards accorded in 1856 is "one fine horn-handle razor to John W. Vance for best jack." This practice was discontinued about the time of the war on all classes except sweepstakes, for which silverware continued to be awarded until 1871, when cash purses were substituted in all departments. A silver-plated castor left in the possession of the society in 1872 was, in 1873, presented to the secretary, William Ray. The character of the exhibits before the war were much the same as those of the present day, but nearly all the articles in the ladies' needlework department were made of home-spun and home-dyed cloths. Ribbon-bedecked pincushions, embroidered pillow cases and crazy quilts never were seen. All the races were under saddle and for very small purses, the horse owners, generally local stock raisers, considered themselves repaid if their horses won. As late as 1867 but $200 in all was offered for four races, and the program for that year announced that "these fast trotting and pacing races will be without regard to time." For many years purses were offered for equestriennes, and many stories are told of the daring horsemanship of the village grandmas in their younger days. During the war a Mrs. Moore who afterward attained considerable notoriety in Chicago as a clairvoyant under the name of Mme. Bendley, was in one of these contests. At first tickets were sold at $1 each, entitling the holder and his family to admission to the fair, but in 1868 the size of families had increased to such numbers that the society decided to charge all people more than 12 years old 25 cents each at the gate. The exhibition was the scene of many a fight and the rough and tumble battle between Dick Scroggins and Bill Payne is still vivid in the memory of many Catlin's older citizens. Each man had been the hero of many battles and each fought desperately for supremacy. They were separated before either had been knocked out and they never afterward renewed the battle. In all this turbulence but one murder ever occurred on the ground and both participants in the tragedy were mere boys. It happened just after the Civil War, when it was fashionable for every man to carry a pistol. A boy named Woodcock, from Champaign county, engaged in a dispute with a companion named Holden, when the latter drew a pistol and shot him. Woodcock died two days later from the effects of his wound. Holden subsequently was tried and convicted of manslaughter, and, being too young to be sent to the penitentiary, was sentenced to the county jail for 15 months, there being no state reformatory at that time. For a number of years gambling in different forms, generally in the guise of lotteries, was allowed, but in 1883, received an effectual setback. In that year the fair officials had allowed more than the usual number of gambling devices, among them being a wheel of fortune, for which they were indicted by the grand jury and only settled by the payment of a stiff fine. This wheel was run by a man named Green, from this city, who a few years later migrated to Kansas, where he founded a town and was eventually elected to the legislature. Unusual attractions seldom were provided. It was in 1886 that the first balloon ascension and parachute drop was seen. In 1874 a baby show was held on the "big day" for which prizes aggregating $50 were given, and the same day all people in attendance more than 70 years of age were seated together in the grandstand. A game of baseball was the extra attraction for the Centennial year and the records contain a mention of a committee appointed "to secure an umpire for the game at a cost not exceeding $5." It was not until the late eighties that the fair people showed their faith in advertising. Up to 1867 the announcement of the date of the fair in the county newspapers and the distribution of 500 premium lists was considered sufficient. In that year, for the first time, the fair was free from debt and accordingly ordered printed "fifty large posters at a cost of $12." In 1872 a daily newspaper was issued on the grounds by James D. Kilpatrick of Danville. It was not until 1879 that any pictorial posters were ordered, and they were printed in but one color. The first side show came in 1857 and exhibited alleged representations of Christ and the Twelve Apostles in wax. The next year the first swing, or merry-go-round, delighted the multitude. It was a primitive affair, formed of two wooden beams crossing at the center at right angles from the ends of which baskets were suspended for the riders. It was run by hand, and but four could ride at a time. Another man applied for space on which to set up an overshot wheel swing, but was refused, as it was considered unsafe. It was 20 feet high and was constructed on the principle of the wheel that brought fame and fortune to Engineer Ferris at the Chicago world's fair. It was built of wood and had four baskets, each of which seated two people. It was kept in motion by a man pushing the baskets as they successively came down within reach. It was set up just outside the fairground gates and on the second day of operation the fears of the fair management were realized, when the wheel collapsed and one occupant--a young woman--received injuries from which she died two days later. Public feeling against the luckless swing man ran high and he immediately left for parts unknown, leaving the wrecked wheel behind. In 1858, the late 'Squire Frank Crosby, then a young adventurer in search of fortune, had a swing on the ground which was the wonder of the day. It had eight baskets, each with room for two people, and was covered by a canvas. Transcribed by Debra (Williams) Faust
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1926 newspaper
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