Merriment and memories on the midway: The Mississippi State Fair.

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The Mississippi State Fair, dressed in a bright, festive atmosphere of multi-colored waving flags, fluttering pennants, and filled with the cries of carnival barkers hawking their games of chance, welcomed an opening day crowd of more than 5,000 on October 25, 1915. An enthusiastic description of the much anticipated opening day appeared in the following morning's Daily Clarion-Ledger: "The Twelfth Annual State Fair opened its gates to the public yesterday and the attendance was more than gratifying. One heard the din of the whistle man and his wares, boys and girls wanted balloons and whips, the Ferris wheel and flying ginnies were running full blast, and all in all, the place wore a carnival air. The eating stands were doing a tremendous business, and at these places many were buying the first 'hot dog' or hamburger they have enjoyed since the fair of 1914."

As with all state fairs there were hundreds of things to see, taste, and hear, but at the 1915 fair there was a particular event that captivated more people than the grandstands could seat. It was a race between a horse and an ostrich. Most people were unfamiliar with the strange, awkward looking bird that is native only to Africa. Many, perhaps, were familiar with the fact that in centuries past people sometimes mistook the peculiar mournful cry of the large birds for that of a lion, as recorded in the Holy Scriptures. [Micah 1:8]. While it is likely that most knew that the ostrich could not fly, they probably had no idea how fast it could run. So, the curious onlookers jammed the stands at the fairground racetrack to find out. The race consisted of only one lap around the oval track, and in less than one minute it was over. The gangly ostrich won.

The Mississippi State Fair dates back to 1859, and although the State Fair Commission is promoting this year's extravaganza as the 148th fair, there were actually several years in which the now annual event was not held. For example, it is believed the fair was not held during the War Between the States or for several years afterwards. In fact, it was well into the Reconstruction Era before the fair was held again. Records on file in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History state that a stock company was formed in 1869 by private citizens, enabling several fairs to be held intermittently until the year 1880. In 1887 the Mississippi State Fair Association was formed, and held a fair for the first time on the grounds behind the Old Capitol Building, but it was discontinued again in 1888. Finally, in 1904 the exhibition was restarted and was held inside the Old Capitol Building with some of the exhibits spilling out onto the Capitol grounds. With only one exception--during the year 1918 when the worldwide Spanish influenza epidemic made it advisable not to hold the fair--it has been an annual event.

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For well over a century, state fair officials have met the challenge of making each year's event bigger and more exciting than the previous year. The formula of showcasing our state's agricultural and industrial products has proven to be the winning recipe for successful fairs and has changed very little over the decades. What has changed are the headliners. For example, the main attraction at the 1907 state fair was machinery. Two large steam tractors supplied by the Union Manufacturing and Supply Company of Hattiesburg won the prize for being the most popular exhibit.

The highlight of the 1909 fair was a visit by U.S. President William Howard Taft. In order to take advantage of the president's historic visit (Taft was the first sitting president to visit the city of Jackson) fair promoters delayed the opening of the fair by two weeks. When the president arrived on November 1, fair commissioners erected an elevated, covered speakers' platform with eight large U.S. flags, patriotic bunting, and a flag pole on top from which flew the nation's presidential flag.

Every year Mississippi's State Fair, with its mile-long midway, continues to provide merriment and memories for everyone, young and old alike.