The Tennessee State Fair is Aug. 15-24 at the James E. Ward Agricultural Center in Wilson County. The fair is over a century old, and while it’s undergone many location changes over the years, it’s shaped Nashville’s landscape and history.
The Fair’s Origins
The first fair was held on Oct. 1855 at the Walnut Race Course, which is where Elizabeth Park in North Nashville is now. It was so popular that the Tennessee General Assembly passed an act to purchase 35 acres as a dedicated site for the fair, close to present-day Trevecca Nazarene University.
Horse racing and agriculture were the most popular events at the fair in the 1800s. The fair was suspended during the Civil War and moved to the Fairgrounds Nashville in 1906, with a continued focus on agriculture. Admission was 50 cents, and people from out of state could travel there by train.
The fair surged in popularity when it introduced special days for visitors, like “Children’s Day” and “Confederate Day,” where former Confederate soldiers received free entry. Jim Crow Laws were in full effect in Nashville at this time. While I couldn’t find any information about Nashville’s Black community at the fair, I imagine it wasn’t particularly welcoming.
The Fair in the 1960s and 70s
By the 1960s, rides were an essential part of the fair experience. A 1965 fire destroyed four exhibition buildings and the grandstands, injuring 18 people. It was the largest Nashville fire at the time since 1916. Attendees remember opening animal cages in the State Game and Fish Booth to save animals, including a bear and two bobcats. Yet, thousands of people still attended the next day’s festivities.
My mom took my two older sisters every year in the 70s, and says what she remembers most is the smell of sawdust from all the agricultural exhibits, and the whole family holding hands while walking through the fair. She also vividly remembers my sister Leasa throwing up after riding the Tilt-A-Whirl on a stomach full of popcorn and cotton candy, and her decision to start riding the Tilt-A-Whirl first at subsequent fairs, instead of after everyone had eaten.
If you visit the fair this month, maybe take my mom’s advice and eat after the rides!
The Fair Today
In 2019, though Metro Nashville wanted to continue holding the fair, the State Fair Commission and the Tennessee State Fair Association decided the facilities were in too much disrepair and canceled it. In 2021, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a plan to merge the Wilson County Fair with the Tennessee State Fair.
