|
 OLDEST - Continuous Agricultural Fair - Brooklyn, CT
N 41° 47.273 W 071° 56.986
19T E 254885 N 4630432
Brooklyn, Connecticut is the home of the Nation's oldest continuous agricultural fair, held annually since 1852.
Waymark Code: WMJAWT
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2013
Views: 1
This Connecticut historical marker stands on the Brooklyn Town Green and relates the following:
STATE OF CONNECTICUT
BROOKLYN
Formerly Mortlake, first settled in 1703, made,
a town on the 2nd Thursday of may 1786.
Home of General Israel Putnam prior to
and after the Revolution.
Town landmarks include:
Meeting House on the Green, built 1771 by
First Ecclesiastical Society of Brooklyn
became Connecticut's first Unitarian Church
1816, with Samuel J. May as minister;
Old Trinity Church (Episcopal) on Church
Street, erected by Godfrey Malbone 1771;
former Windham County Courthouse,
built 1820, afterwards Town Hall, site in 1833
of trial of Prudence Crandall of Canterbury
for defying law restricting Negro education.
Brooklyn Fair is the nation's oldest
continuous agricultural fair, held annually
since 1852.
Erected by the
Brooklyn Historical Society, Inc.
and the
Connecticut Historical Commission.
1971
"Windham County Agricultural Society - Sponsoring Brooklyn Fair
The Brooklyn Fair, held annually the last weekend in August, is sponsored by the Windham County Agricultural Society to promote and preserve the county's agricultural heritage. First held in 1809, the fair is the oldest agricultural fair in the country.
The Windham County Agricultural Society was founded in the town of Pomfret in 1809 as the Pomfret United Agricultural Society for the purpose of encouraging "agriculture and domestic manufactures." The society sponsored annual fairs, alternating among the towns of Pomfret, Woodstock and Brooklyn. When the society incorporated in 1820 as the Windham County Agricultural Society, all subsequent fairs were held in Brooklyn.
Early fairs, called cattle shows, were held in and around the old courthouse. These fairs included exhibits of needlework and household articles to stimulate what was then called the "female industry." During the mid-1850s, the society purchased fifteen acres to hold fairs on. By the late 1880s, horses shows and races, and more domestic manufactures, such as canned fruit and jellies, had been added to the fair.
The Brooklyn Fair attracted more than 100,000 people in 1999. It is the only Connecticut fair that features harness racing. Other fair activities include a chain saw competition, a best dog show, a cattle show, a draft horse show, a donkey and mule show, a sulky horse race, a pedal tractor pulling for children, pony pulling, and live entertainment on several stages.
Project is documented with text, copies of historic documents, nine photos, a newspaper article, fair programs from 1996 to 1999, and photocopies of program covers from previous years." SOURCE
Type of documentation of superlative status: Historical Marker
Location of coordinates: Town Green in Brooklyn, CT
Web Site: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:
Post one photo of the waymark that is a different view from the one on the page and describe your visit, including the date. Other information that you may regarding the waymark is encouraged. Neither you nor your GPSr need to appear in any photos!
|