Missouri State Fairgrounds - Sedalia, Missouri - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

In 1901, the year of the first Missouri State Fair, the Missouri State Fairgrounds was a rural area west of the southwest corner of Sedalia. Horse-drawn vehicles passed through the north entrance, but many early fairgoers arrived by steam train and electric street car. Beginning with the first fair, the Missouri Pacific and Katy Railroads carried thousands of visitors from throughout the state and ran shuttle trains directly onto the fairgrounds. Many animals were also shipped by train. Passengers arrived at and departed from depots at the west edge of the grounds. Meanwhile, electric street cars entered on an extension of the Sixteenth Street line, providing convenient access for Sedalians and visitors who stayed overnight in town. An early street car depot (ca. 1904) was southwest of the mile racetrack. In the 1920s or earlier, the street car depot was east of the main entrance. No railroad/street car facilities are extant.

A 1905 "ground plan" of the main portion of the fairgrounds shows 14 existing buildings: the Coliseum/Livestock Pavilion (#18), five cattle barns (#10, 12, 14, 22 and 25), a mule barn (#20), two horse barns (#30 and 32), the FFA Building/Poultry Building (#56), Commercial Building/Agricultural Building (#66), Varied Industries Building/Horticultural Building (#70), Missouri Building/Poultry Building (#71) and the Poultry & Rabbit Building/Machinery Building (#83). Although depicted on the 1905 sketch, the mule barn (#20) and two cattle barns (#10 and 14) would not exist until 1907. The 1905 plan also shows the lower portion of the mile racetrack (#39 and the following no longer extant properties: a grandstand, a swine and sheep building, an administration building, a "Kali" building, a fire department building, a restaurant, two railroad passenger depots, cattle chutes and a custodian's residence. Not shown (the map only shows the west portion of the fairgrounds) are 11 speed barns east of the mile track of which six (#108-113) are extant.

Architecturally, the Missouri State Fairgrounds Historic District contains a fine collection of early 20th century fair and exposition-type buildings, most of which have red brick walls. Most of the larger historic properties are somewhat eclectic, with Mission and Romanesque Revival influences, but good individual examples of the Georgian Revival and Art Deco-Art Moderne styles may also be seen. In general, the larger buildings have steel frames but roofs are made of wood. Today, green asphalt shingles are used for most roofing instead of the original tile or slate. Foundations are concrete or stone. Most buildings have been meticulously maintained and several are relatively unaltered.

The oldest extant buildings are the six frame speed barns (#108-113). These buildings, erected for the first fair in 1901, show their age and are no longer used. The next oldest are the three large brick exposition halls built in 1903 (FFA Building/Poultry Building #56, Commercial Building/Agricultural Building #66 and Varied Industries Building/Horticultural Building #70). The Swine Pavilion/Swine & Sheep Pavilion (#88) is the largest historic building, constructed in 1922. The next largest is the Coliseum/Livestock Pavilion (#18), completed in 1906. The smallest historic brick building is an early fire station (#60), built in 1913. The smallest contributing resources are concrete drinking fountains (counted as objects) constructed by Works Progress Administration crews and indicated on the district map by the number sign (II). Several concession buildings, some of which are historic, are interspersed among the exposition halls and some animal barns. The oldest of these (#26, etc.) were constructed by WPA workers in the late 1930s. Most free-standing restrooms are of relatively recent construction or have been substantially remodeled, but one (#118) was built before World War Two.