40 Nebraskaland • August-September 2019
ebraskans will celebrate the 150th Nebraska State
Fair Aug. 23-Sept. 2. Can you name the fair's fi ve host
cities, and the two years the fair was canceled?
Nebraska City hosted a three-day territorial fair
in 1859, and the fi rst two state fairs were there in 1868 and
1869. Brownville hosted for a few years, then Omaha and
Lincoln switched back and forth until Lincoln became the
fair's longtime home from 1901 to 2009. Grand Island has
been the host city since 2010.
No fair was held in 1898 because host city Omaha
was putting all its eff orts into its Trans-Mississippi and
International Exposition, a World's Fair-type event. And the
U.S. government suspended fairs in 1945 due to World War II.
From the beginning, fair promoters disagreed whether
the fair was primarily about education or entertainment. In
1868, future Nebraska governor Robert Furnas of Brownville
scolded readers of the Nebraska Advertiser: "Don't go into
sideshows to see fat women, or a calf with two heads and
eight legs, or any other monstrosities; but look at the stock,
examine the points and make note of where you can purchase
a fi ne Short Horn or Chester White, or any other desirable
stock." At a time when the great majority of Nebraskans
were farmers, Furnas believed that the fair's main purpose
was to improve people's lives by improving agriculture.
Meanwhile, gambling and liquor were allowed at the fair
until 1879, and early newspapers complained of "indecent
shows." The popularity of horse races, entertainers, and
carnival-style midways may have disappointed the purists,
but the fair relied on the big crowds those events drew.
Even Furnas acknowledged that the fair off ered "a week of
recreation for every family," and that "it happens on many
farms that there is really no let up," making it hard to get
away. By the time they arrived at the fairgrounds, in other
words, most Nebraskans believed they'd earned the right to
enjoy themselves.
Here are a few of our favorite photos from fairs past.
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Visit History Nebraska's website at history.nebraska.gov.
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150 Nebraska State Fairs
The fairgrounds in
Lincoln in 1888. The
widespread use of trash
receptacles was still
in the future. History
Nebraska RG3356-3-3
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska
