August 30, 2023 marks the beginning of the 177th Canfield Fair, the county fair for Mahoning County and one of the biggest in the country. Living away from the Youngstown area, we’ve not been able to get to the fair in recent years but I visit the fair in my memories. These are ten of my favorite fair memories–hard to keep it at just ten!
10. Getting our annual DiRusso’s Italian sausage sandwich with my son. When my son was growing up, we were at the fair every year and one of our first stops was DiRusso’s. As he got older, there was a rivalry of who would eat it the hottest.
9. A childhood memory was when my dad bought me a footlong hotdog. I’d never seen a hotdog so big, and a foot of all the fixins? Heaven on a bun.
8. The year of the strollers. We often met up with friends from YSU and there was one year when we all had small children in strollers. Hard to believe that those “kids” are now pushing 40!
7. The rabbit and rooster barn. This was an annual stop for us–we couldn’t believe how many different varieties of these two creatures there were.
6. When I was young they had a double ferris wheel, the top of which was so high and at times not only would each wheel go around but also the whole hulking thing! A bit terrifying to look at and an absolute blast to ride!
5. The midways at night. All the lights, the haze in the air from both all the food being cooked and late summer humidity. All the wonderful sounds, the barkers at the “games of skill” booths.
4, A fresh made lemonade on a hot afternoon at the fair. Nothing was more thirst quenching–and all that sugar! Or a Strouss’s malt. Or an apple dumpling with a big scoop of ice cream. They were all good for cooling off.
3. Sharing an elephant ear among four or more of us as we strolled down a midway. Or Molnar fries.
2. Taking pictures outside the pumpkin exhibit, putting our heads into the pumpkin cutouts after being overwhelmed by the monstrous pumpkins inside.
1. Sharing the fair with friends as our annual re-union, and unwinding afterwards, staying up late and catching up on a whole year.
Actually, I’m just skimming the surface, but if I don’t share all my memories, that leaves plenty of room for you to share yours. There is so much to the Canfield Fair! A list of ten things just doesn’t cover it. And if you go to the fair this year, eat a DiRusso’s or an elephant ear for me!
To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.”Enjoy!
He was one of Canfield’s early residents, moving from Connecticut to Canfield in 1806 to practice law and teach school. In 1812, he answered his young country’s call and fought under William Henry Harrison in the War of 1812. He represented Canfield in the Ohio House from 1821 to 1822, and in the U. S. Congress from 1823 to 1838. He also served as the first Comptroller of the U. S. Treasury.
In local history, what he is best known for is his role in forming the Mahoning County Agricultural Society, the parent organization of the Canfield Fair. It was 1846. The Ohio Legislature had just created Mahoning County as a new county from townships in Trumbull and Columbiana Counties. Canfield, because of its central location, was chosen to be the county seat. It was only in 1874 that the county seat was moved to Youngstown.
During that year, Attorney Whittlesey spoke to a gathering at the Canfield Congregational Church. It had the impressive title of “Competitive Exhibitions as a Means of Awakening More Active Interest in All Industrial Pursuits” (the beginning of all those 4-H competitions!). The address had the intended effect and out of this meeting the Mahoning County Agricultural Society was born.
Since Canfield was the county seat, it was the logical choice for the county fair. The first fair was organized as a one-day affair held on October 5, 1847. Initially, livestock was tied up and produce displayed along Broad Street and meetings held at the Congregational Church. George Houk of the Mahoning County Agricultural Society described the early fairs like this, “People brought their ox teams in, their horse teams in. It was just an opportunity for the early farmers to get together and share their agricultural ideas with one another” (Source: WKBN27). The first fair turned a profit of $308.
In 1851, the Fair moved to its present location and expanded further in 1867. In 1896, the Main Hall (now the Floral and Fine Arts Building) was opened. In 1924 lighting allowed for night attendance for the first time. In 1936, the Grandstand was completed as a WPA project. In 1958 the Big Rock was installed and the rooster on the Grandstand in 1968.
There were war years when the Fair was not held. 1917–18, 1942–45. In 2020, due to the COVID pandemic, only the Junior Fair took place–honoring all the work those youth invested and returning in some way to the earliest beginnings of the Fair.
This year, the full Fair is on and celebrating the 175th anniversary of its beginnings at Canfield Congregational Church and an address by Elisha Whittlesey. All those Junior Fair competitions, all those exhibitions, the rides, the fair food, the grandstand shows, started with an idea set forth by one of Canfield’s early residents in the year Mahoning became a county. Thank you, Attorney Whittlesey!
To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.”Enjoy!
Old Mahoning County Courthouse in Canfield, Ohio. Photo: Robert C. Trube, all rights reserved
Unless you grew up in Canfield, it is likely that your first visit to Canfield was to go to the Canfield Fair. That was true for me. It was a memorable night with my dad–the rides, the animal barns, footlong hotdogs, and to top it all off, while we waiting to turn left into our street coming home, a drunk rear-ended us! Nobody was hurt, but the rear end of my dad’s ’61 Ford Galaxie was crumpled.
The fair came nearly 50 years after the first settlers from Connecticut settled in what was then Township 1, Range 3, shortly after it was surveyed in 1798. Six people purchased shares in the 16,324 acres making up the township. The largest share, 6,171 acres, was purchased by Judson Canfield. After briefly calling the township Campfield, they early settlers saw sense and on April 15, 1800, they voted to call it Canfield in honor of the largest landowner.
The earliest settlers were all from Connecticut. They included Judson Canfield who was there in June of 1798, two of the surveyors, Samuel Gilson and Joseph Pangburn, and Champion Minor with his wife and two children, the youngest dying shortly after they arrived. The center of town was laid out, a log cabin and two homes were built and a barn. They also cut an east-west road, what is now Route 224. Groups from Connecticut added to the settlement each of the next several years.
In 1801, the first business, a sawmill, was built on the northeast part of the townshipThe first birth occurred June 22, 1802, Royal Canfield Chidester. Herman Canfield (Judson’s brother) and Zalmon Fitch operated a store. Fitch also opened a tavern. A small school was started in a combined school, community center and church building with Caleb Palmer as teacher. Samuel Gilson handled mail delivery, traveling back and forth to Pittsburgh to get the mail. By 1805, the little settlement had 17 homes, a store, a school and a sawmill. Immigrants from Germany came in 1805. A significant later immigration of Irish Catholics in 1852 augmented the population.
Canfield was originally on the southern edge of Trumbull County (along with Youngstown, Poland, Boardman, Austintown, and the all the Township 1s and 2s in the southern part of Trumbull County, the county seat of which was Warren. In the 1840’s communities like Youngstown and Canfield were growing because of routing of canals and railroads through the area, even while the county was represented by people from the Warren area in the state legislature. Finally, in 1842, Eben Newton, one of Canfield’s leading citizens was elected to the legislature. Working together with others, a proposal creating Mahoning County as Ohio’s 83rd county passed in the state legislature on February 16, 1846. The southern two tiers of townships from Trumbull County were combined with the northern tier of Columbiana County (surveyed as 6 x 6 mile squares as opposed to the 5 x 5 system used throughout the Western Reserve).
And Canfield? Because of its central location in the new county, it was designated county seat, with the courthouse in the photograph above being erected. The town underwent a boom as it became the center to transact legal business, with its hotel thriving. County seats are typically the sites of the annual county fair, and the first Canfield Fair was held October 5, 1847 as a one day event. In 1851 the Fair moved to its present location, which was expanded in 1867. The first superintendent of the fair was J.W. Canfield, grandson of Canfield’s founder.
Canfield was the agricultural heart of the county, so this made sense. But Youngstown had never been happy about the decision to site the county seat in Canfield. Youngstown was going through its first industrial boom, starting in the 1840’s, and especially in the 1860’s during the Civil War. In 1874, a bill to move the county seat to Youngstown passed in the state legislature. The bill was challenged in court, first argued in Canfield with James A. Garfield representing Canfield. The case eventually went to the Ohio Supreme Court, with the court upholding the bill.
The move of the county seat to Youngstown meant a different future for Canfield, combining the feel of a farming community with Classical Revival architecture, giving the community a sense of refinement–a community of schools and churches. In 1881, the Northeastern Ohio Normal School was established in Canfield to educate teachers for the community. It operated until 1910 when it closed for lack of funds.
For most of the year, Canfield is known as a quiet, relatively affluent city of good schools, a town square that retains its historic character, and a diverse mix of restaurants and local businesses. But for one week of every year, the rest of the county, as well as people from far and wide come to the largest county fair in Ohio. That’s how most of us growing up in Youngstown discovered Canfield.
To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.”Enjoy!
Canfield Fair Historic Marker with Grandstand in background. Photo courtesy of Jenn Wintermantel, via HMdb.org. Used with permission of owner.
It’s fair time again! I have so many memories of visits to the fair, and the fairgrounds and many of them revolve around the grandstand. During fairs past, I watched harness races, pig iron competitions, and tractor pulls (not being able to hear a thing afterwards and smelling of diesel exhaust!). Then there were shows. I can remember going to see the Beachboys and Kenny Loggins at different shows over the years. This year, the big act is Pentatonix, a group I happen to love. But you probably would have had to buy the tickets the day they came out. Some past acts were Toby Keith, John Mellencamp, Reba McEntire, Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
The first encounter some of us had with the grandstand were those ominous announcements: “Susie and Michael are at the sound tower by the grandstand and have lost their parents and they’d like to find you” (or something like that). The other experience we had was going underneath the grandstand for all the vendors who were selling everything from trinkets to pots and pans, and miracle cleaning solutions. There was one of these, a powder that came in a can that could be used for cleaning carpet stains and other stains. The stuff really worked and one of our missions at the fair was to buy a can every year.
The grandstand was built in 1936. Over the entrance, where grandstand events are posted and the trademark rooster stands, you can see engraved in the cement “WPA 1936.” WPA stands for Works Progress Administration, a Depression-era program designed to put thousands of out-of-work men to work on public infrastructure projects. This one has lasted 83 years and counting! The grandstand can seat 6200 people.
There is an interesting story behind this. Because it was a WPA project, the ownership of the ground and the grandstand, originally owned by the fairgrounds, was transferred to the county in 1935 so they could apply for the construction. It remained in county hands until 2001. The transfer might have happened in 1996, but the fair board borrowed $300,000 at that time for grandstand improvements from the county, and the county did not want to complete the transfer until the loan was paid. In 2001, the grandstand transferred back to fair ownership for the price of $1.
Over the years I visited the grandstand for other things. There used to be stock car races and demolition derbies on the track and I went to some of those. The demolition derbies were fun, because people were intentionally trying to hit each other, doing as much damage as possible while still keeping going in a kind of “last man standing” contest. Apparently these still happen, with one scheduled on Friday night of this year’s fair.
Twice during my growing up years there were “crusades” with associates of Billy Graham, once when I was young with a preacher by the name of Lane Adams, and when I was in college with Leighton Ford. My big memory of the latter event was that one night my father and I were the “night watchmen” over all the sound equipment. All we could do if there was a problem was to call the real police, but fortunately, all we saw that night were the stars as we camped out on the stage.
Often, the grandstand represented a place where you could get out of the sun on a hot day at the fair. You could watch pig iron pulling contests and cheerleader competitions and marching bands. It was part of the “fair experience” and stands as a monument to the workers who built it, the fair board who have maintained it, and all who have performed there.
Congratulations, Canfield Fair on your 173rd year! You are “something to crow about!”
Pictures outside the Pumpkin Barn are a must! Bob Trube, all rights reserved, 2004.
How many of you took pictures here? These are younger versions of my son and me in the left eye of the Mr. Pumpkin, and my good friend, Bob, in the right eye.
After looking at the pumpkin pyramid, you walked up to the porch and gawked at all the huge pumpkins on display, some over 1,000 pounds, and all somewhat flattened out and distorted by their own weight. After that, you stepped into the barn and looked at the biggest pumpkin of the year.
Finally, you wandered through the barn and looked at the incredible variety of colors and shapes of pumpkins and squash, organized into fantastic displays, including various creations of people and animals out of pumpkins. It was a reminder of what a versatile vegetable squash is–for eating, for decoration, for birdhouses, for colorful displays, and for making bizarre creations.
Photo by WDWParksGal-Stock, Fall Harvest at the Canfield Fair, via Deviant Art
Did you know that the pumpkin show was not always a part of the Canfield Fair? It was started only in 1962, which makes this year’s the 57th pumpkin show. It was the brainchild of Homer Schaeffer and Ray Carr, who thought the Canfield Fair needed a pumpkin show similar to the Circleville Pumpkin Show, south of Columbus. The first year, the winning pumpkin weighed just 85 pounds and was grown by John Gavin.
The pumpkins grew in size over the years. By 1991, the largest was 544 pounds, grown by Ron and Kathy Moffett, who won a number of championships during the 1990’s. The 1,000 pound threshold was surpassed in 2008 by Jerry Rose, who had won a number of grand champions. Another Jerry, Jerry Snyder set the all-time record at 1512 pounds in 2017. This year’s winner, grown by Chuck Greathouse, came in at 1381 pounds.
How do you weigh one of these monsters? Very carefully, to be sure. I came across this video of pumpkin weighing at the Fair in 2017. I was particularly impressed to see it was grown by a young boy. If you think a 1500 pound pumpkin is impressive, there is a giant pumpkin weigh-in at the end of the season and it is not unusual to have a 2,000 pound pumpkin!
All the pumpkin growers will tell you that the seed is the secret to growing a huge pumpkin (really a form of squash). Seeds from championship pumpkins can run as much as $50 a seed (that is right–one seed!). Of course, weather, pruning, and insect control are very important. If the idea of raising a REALLY large pumpkin, and not just looking at them fascinates you, there is a local group in the Canfield-Salem area called the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers, part of a global organization called the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.
For most of us, a picture at Mr. Pumpkin, and walking through all the squash and pumpkin displays is enough. After all, there is so much else to see and good food to sample!
The 170th Canfield Fair starts next Wednesday. And hearing of this brings back memories that stretch from childhood until the early years of our son’s marriage. I wonder if it is like this for you:
Going to the fair as a child and seeing all the lights at night, particularly from the top of the ferris wheel and experiencing a whole new sense of wonder.
Seeing real live farm animals, smelling them, and realizing they don’t have the same sense of privacy we do when they pee and poop!
Having my first footlong hotdog, having never heard of such a think but thinking, “what a wonderful idea.”
Going to the fair with a girl and trying (and not usually succeeding) to win her a prize in the games of skill. Eye-hand coordination was never my strong suit.
Strolling the midway with a girl, sharing a cup of fair fries drizzled with vinegar.
Working one year in college at an old-time evangelist’s booth showing the curious these glass boxes designed to foster the fear of hell so they would turn to Jesus. I still like encouraging people to “turn to Jesus”, but decided this was not the way I wanted to go about it.
Going to some of the grandstand shows. I remember seeing the Beach Boys one year, Kenny Loggins another, and countless tractor pulls. Can we say “deaf”.
Then there were all those vendors under the grandstand. We would get a can of carpet cleaner from one of them that really worked!
For many years, we used the fair for an annual reunion with college friends. We started when our kids were in strollers and this went until our kids were getting married.
We always had to stop at DiRusso’s for an Italian Sausage sandwich. And once my son’s stomach could handle it, he joined the fun.
For a period of time, we could buy the kids a ride wristband and turn ’em loose for a few hours so that we could look at some of the exhibits like the art show and various 4-H exhibits that they would consider b-o-r-i-n-g.
Speaking of the art exhibit, the fair was responsible for my wife showing one of her paintings in public for the first timed, at the urging of our artist friend.
We grew up in the city but it was amazing to watch young boys and girls ride horses and put them through their paces competing for various ribbons. Then we’d walk through the barns and see them caring for these animals, sometimes sleeping in an adjacent stall or a trailer and being impressed with how responsible they were.
I think I always loved the nights the most, with all the lights of rides and stands. There seemed to be a haze over the midway–a combination of all the things being fried and the humidity of a late summer night.
The Fair was always the last fling of summer for us. School didn’t start until after Labor Day back then. Even as adults, the Fair marked the end of the easier pace of summer as our kids started back to school, and everyone got back from vacation at work. I think for all of us around Youngstown, it was, and still is for those who live there, the last big celebration of summer.
