The Michigan State Fair, Fowlerville Fair, Brighton Folk Art Fair and, Sponsored by the Livingston County Agricultural Society, the Agricultural Fair in Brighton. All but the latter are familiar to us.
The 1880 History of Livingston County, by Franklin Ellis, notes that in the May 10, 1843 issue of the Livingston Courier can be found this notice; ‘executive committee of the Livingston County Agricultural Society for 1843 held their first meeting. . . at the schoolhouse in the village of Howell, May 2’. It is assumed this group organized 1841 or 1842. The list for which premiums were awarded included; field crops, cattle, horses, sheep, swine, poultry, farm implements, butter and cheese, sugar & honey, fruit and vegetables, best managed farm and domestic manufactures (weaving, etc.). However Ellis could find no further records of this organization nor is any site of this fair recorded. (can any of our readers help with this research?)
In February, 1853 a call noted, announced in the press, to meet to organize a Livingston County Agricultural Society (Again?) Ira Jennings of Green Oak Township became it’s president and Job Cranston of Brighton Township was a V.P. Each township was represented by a V.P. ‘Ely Barnard from Genoa Township and Stoddard W. Twichell, Hamburg Township for this SE quarter of the county. Over 200 members are listed in the Society’s first year of existence. A cursory review of the list (and this writer’s imperfect memory) indicates over 60 lived in the area.
Article I of the adopted Constitution states it “. . . is organized for the encouragement of agriculture, manufactures and the mechanic arts.” The first order of business, March 12, 1853 included the resolution: “that the first annual fair of the Society be held in the month of October next, in that township in the county which will raise and pledge to the Board of Directors, on or before the last Saturday in April next, the largest amount of means towards defraying the incidental expenses of the said fair.”
Apparently this was insufficient time for the townships to act on the offer. In early May an extension was granted to June 15 to receive pledges. At that meeting the Board resolved, “that whereas the Township of Brighton has offered the largest sum ($140.00) for the location of the first annual fair at that village, that the said first annual fair of the Society be held at said village of Brighton on the sixth and seventh days of October next.”
At the Livingston County Agricultural Society Fair in Brighton in 1853, exhibitors displayed their best crops, livestock, farm management skills and domestic products. Premiums were awarded similar to those of the fair held 10 years earlier. However a plowing match was added with the first premium for best quarter-acre plowed going to William White. The treasurer reported a profit of $383.70.
And where was this fair ground located? Neither on 1859 nor an 1875 map note the site. An 1895 Atlas shows the Brighton Fairground in the S ½ of the NE ¼ of the NE ¼, Section 36, Genoa Township. Just north of the Brighton High School on Brighton Road. However on that map it is titled the Brighton Market Fair Association as owner. An 1877 Share of the Capital Stock of the Brighton Market Fair Association was sold to Ira Bradley with a par value of $25. John Carter is listed as President of Association and Lewis Meyer as Secretary. This writer’s references do not indicate when the B.M.F.A. was organized, who were the organizers, when the last fair was held etc. A 1915 map refers to the property as belonging to the Stuhrberg Brothers. Perhaps it was still used as fairgrounds?
We are indebted to Florence Warner Chase of Fowlerville for her donation of the negative of the picture below. One can see Brighton Fair Grounds written on the picture. Also a water pump, bicycle, picnic tables and a wide pathway can be seen. Those in the background are perhaps watching a plowing or pulling contest or a game of baseball. This writer estimates the date as 1910. Can anyone help with this? Are there more photos around?
…Provided the citizens of the place should pledge to the Society the sum of $200.00 towards defraying the incidental expenses the Livingston County Agricultural Society resolved, in March, 1854, that its second fair should be held at the county seat, Howell. Again April 15, was set as the pledge date deadline. However, if Howell couldnt ante up it would go to the Township that could.
Altho it was May 2, 1854,the fair board deemed the pledge in compliance with the terms and it was voted the fair would be held in Howell. The public square to be the fair site. One assumes this was in the block where the courthouse stands.
Where the 1855 fair was held has not been noted. Howell was again the site for the following two years. Brighton hosted in 1858 and 1859. Their pledge included an offer to …enclose a suitable ground and erect all necessary buildings as directed by the officers of the Society for the 1860 fair. This offer necessitated prompt action by the citizens of Howell (or perhaps lose out completely) and they came through. (It is this writers opinion the society preferred the permanent site to be Howell.) In time for the 1860 fair land had been purchased, fenced and some buildings erected east of Howell, near the toll gate on Grand River. This would be the area north of E. Grand River between National and Catrell Streets. By 1880 the Society owned 20 acres with a half mile race track and proper buildings which housed animals, crops and displays of home mechanics. The society had good reason to be proud of holding…its first fair on its own grounds. (Editorial Comment; Since it was a county organization the grounds could have been built anywhere in Livingston County.)
At the great risk of incurring tedious sighs from our readers we will, nevertheless, lest names of early settlers who were active in the formation of the Livingston Agricultural Society as listed in the 1880 History of Livingston County.
| Appleton, Isaac W. Albrecht, A.F. Baetcke, Gustave & F. Barnard, Ely Berhnes, Richard Beurmann, Edward & Emil Bingham, Kinsley & Ira Bird, Melzer & Gardner Bitten, Wm. Bogan, Patrick Briggs, H.D. Case, Daniel & J. & E. Clark, James Conely, SM., W.D., W.B. Cranston, Job Crawford, Wm. |
Dean, Wm. W. Euler, John Fishbeck, Jacob & I. Fonda, L.B. Gale, J.D. Gay, V.W. Gage, Geo. L. Grant, E.W. Hanrrington J.F. Hartman, John Hazard, S.H. & David Judson, L. Kellogg, D. & J.W. Lee, D.S. & Hanibal Maltby, A. McCabe, M. |
Noble, A.C. Osborn, Wm. Paddock, J. Peck, Geo. W. Placeway, Wm. Power, DB. & R.D. Pratt, L.C. Roger, P. Ross, Perry G. Spencer, Chas. Thompson, David & Wm E. Tunis, Wm. T. Warner, S. Webb, W.L. Woodruff, Egbert W. |
Weve included only those within a few miles of the cross road of Grand River Trail and Fitch (Main) Streets, Brighton.
In his Michigan Memorabilia Bill Pless writes, Once a year, during the horse and buggy days, (c. 1895) everyone in the vicinity attended the Brighton Fair. Many bought a family ticket and brought their food in picnic baskets, or purchased it from stands operated by local church or lodge women. The fairground was located just west of town, north of the Brighton High School on Brighton Road. There were buildings to display farm products such as: vegetables, grain, fruits and livestock. And barns to house livestock and race horses. Needlework, canned fruit, baked goods and crafts were also displayed and prizes were awarded.
Farm machinery, buggies, carts, cutters, sleighs, wheelbarrows and hand tools were displayed by local dealers and blacksmiths. Several horse and bicycle races took place each day on a half mile track in front of the grandstand.
A sort of little worlds series of baseball games were played on a diamond, located inside the race track, between the Brighton Team and the teams from Howell, Pinckney, Holly, Fenton or Milford.
The Brighton Brass band marched in the Grand Parade and gave concerts in the evening . . a well known barber took a real interest in the fine arts, especially music and singing. He was particularly interested in the newly organized brass band that had been practicing for several months to play in public for the first time at the Brighton Fair. He had to keep his shop open and couldnt go to hear the band, so the first man he saw coming downtown from the Fair he stopped and asked, How did the band sound? the fellow said, Oh, about like sixteen horses tooting in a barrel. When the man moved on the barber exploded. there you are, little does he care about the finer things of life or the hours of work those fellows put into bringing a little culture and refinement into our lives.
Research as shown that many farmers from this SE ¼ of the county were members of the Livingston County Agricultural Society. Among them was K.W. Bingham, son of Kinsley Bingham, (Michigans Governor 1855/1858). Kinsley W. married Frances Woodruff, daughter of Evert and Ruby Woodruff (who built Woodruff Mill, 1838.) He served as President, 1867 and Director, 1869, of the Society in which his father had been a charter member. At the first fair, 1853, in Brighton, he had entered cattle, sheep, horses and farm machinery.
We continue with Bill Pless writings in his Michigan Memorabilia, as he reminisces about the times when an annual fair was held in Brighton. Of course, there were the usual side shows and games of chance on the midway . . . A local man had a tent at the Brighton Fair with a sign over the entrance reading FOR MEN ONLY. He had a good looking girl sell tickets and directing customers to move through the tent single file and leave at the side exit. All he had inside was a pair of mens suspenders draped over a saw horse and a sign reading Now dont get mad. Be a good sport. Go out and tell your friends to come in, so they will get stung like you did.
Another anecdote: A con man had a large basket full of bars of soap at the old Brighton Fair. He stood there unwrapping the soap and apparently rewrapping with a dollar or five dollar bill inside with the bars. Then he offered everyone a choice to pick out a bar for a dollar. An old man watched closely and selected several bars without success. Then he got mad and he and his friends took the con man to Old Bill Pipp, the President of the Fair Association that year. The old man told Mr. Pipp that the man had cheated him. Mr. Pipp asked the con man for his story. Uncle, this man played my game and he lost. Mr. Pipp laughed and said, Sounds fair enough to me, but Ill give you just five minutes to take your basket and get out of town and dont ever come back.
On the midway one found several rides. A merry-go-round, a ride called the Ocean Wave and a four seat Ferris Wheel operated by John Tanner of Brighton. They were each driven by a small horse running around in a circle to turn the power mechanism.
The fair grounds were used for more than the county fair. Pless tells us From as far back as I can remember to about 1907, the children in our country school looked forward every spring to see a herd of as many as 25-40 mustangs being driven, loose, by five or six wranglers to an auction at the fairgrounds in Brighton. The mustangs were fine looking specimens; sound, spirited and tough animals. Each one had been branded with a hot iron. None had ever had a strap on them, but had been lassoed when captured and several times after. These would give up and stand cowed when they had a rope around their neck. Local young farmers bought them and found them to be quite amenable to working in the harness.
Compiled by Marieanna Bair. To increase the Societys knowledge of this subject, or any others, please contact us.