Driving Notes

Today, we started another leg of On the Road with Big Blue, and headed out to the Hartford Fair! We shared some Who Knew facts with you, and here are some of them from their Fair website!

The Hartford Independent Agricultural Society, or better known as the “Hartford Fair” is located in the Northwest corner of Licking County. It is a unique fair in comparison to other Ohio fairs. It incorporates directors from Licking County and two neighboring counties, Delaware and Knox. Because Licking County does not have a County fair, the Junior Fair includes exhibitors from all of Licking Co. and portions of Delaware and Knox Counties.

The Hartford Fair was organized in the fall of 1858 under the name “The Hartford Fair Society”. The first fair was held in 1858 on land leased by Taber Sharp. The only townships represented at that time were Hartford and Monroe in Licking County and Hilliar in Knox County and Trenton in Delaware County. By 1871 there were ten townships represented, with the annexation of Milford Township in Knox Co; Harlem & Berkshire townships in Delaware; and Liberty, Bennington and Burlington townships in Licking County. St. Albans and Jersey were added from Licking County in 1908 as well as Miller in Knox Co. and Porter from Delaware Co.

This made a total of fourteen townships represented with a director elected from each with the exception of Hartford Twp. which had two directors. This fifteen-member fair board continued until 1970 when five directors were added At-Large from the remaining townships in Licking County, not already represented, making the total number of directors twenty. Ten years later, in 1980, two more At-Large directors were appointed along with one more each from Hartford and Monroe Townships. The list of directors totaled twenty-four. In 2012, three additional directors were added to the Board making the total 27″.

We hope to see you out at Dan Emmett!
Thanks for listening!
-Lilly