Champion steer at the Ohio State Fair photograph   Save
Ohio Expositions Commission Photograph Collection
Description: This is a photograph of the champion steer and his owner accepting their prize at the Ohio State Fair in 1968. Governor James Rhodes is pictured at left. The Ohio State Fair is an annual exhibition held at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus that showcases Ohio farming and commercial products and achievements. In the 1840s, farmers began to join agricultural organizations and the state of Ohio began to take an interest in the challenges that farmers faced. As a result, the state government created the Board of Agriculture in 1846. The Board of Agriculture planned to hold the first statewide fair in 1849, but a cholera epidemic forced the fair's cancellation. The first Ohio State Fair was held the next year instead. The city of Cincinnati hosted the fair in 1850, which went on for three days. Ultimately, the Board decided that the state capital should be the permanent site for the state fair, and it moved to Columbus in 1874. By the 1870s, the state's railroad system had improved significantly, and it was much easier to travel from all parts of the state. The current fairgrounds, known today as the Ohio Expo Center, were completed in 1886. The Ohio State Fair has been held at these fairgrounds ever since. This photograph is part of the Ohio Expositions Commission Photograph Collection, a series of black and white photographs, the majority of which were taken between 1955-1968, which consist of livestock at fairs, primarily horses, and documents many types of State Fair activities, especially horsemanship and livestock activities. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA768AV_B01F03_001
Subjects: Ohio State Fair; Expositions and fairs; Livestock; Prizes; Cattle; Agriculture--Ohio;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)