State Fair of Texas

Duane's take

The official marker for the State Fair of Texas is the word of record here, and I'm just the one bringing it to life for you. Now, if you want to talk about something that started modest and grew into a genuine Texas-sized institution, pull up a chair, because this story begins in 1886. That's the year the State Fair of Texas was founded — not by the government, not by some distant boardroom, but by Capt.

W. H. Gaston and a handful of other pioneer business and civic leaders of Dallas.

They set it up as a private, nonprofit corporation, built for civic purposes. That right there tells you something about the ambition of the thing from day one. Now fast forward to 1904, and the city of Dallas takes ownership of the fairgrounds entirely.

From that point on, the city maintains those grounds as a public park — except, of course, for that annual two-week stretch when the fair rolls in and transforms the whole place into something else altogether. And those grounds grew, friend. What started as 80 acres was enlarged, and then enlarged again, until the fairgrounds reached their present size of 250 acres.

Somewhere in all that expansion, federal, state, and city governments got to work erecting permanent buildings on the property — the Hall of State, five other museums, a music hall, a livestock coliseum, and a little structure you may have heard of called the Cotton Bowl. But let's talk about the names that walked through those gates over the years, because this is where it gets interesting. Wild west showman Buffalo Bill appeared here.

Harry Houdini — the magician — performed here. William Jennings Bryan, described on the marker itself as a silver-tongued orator, took the stage here. And Comanche war chief Quanah Parker came to the fair as well.

You stop and think about that collection of figures standing on the same grounds, and it tells you the State Fair of Texas was drawing the full sweep of American life. Now the fair hasn't been without its pauses. It suspended operations for two years to make way for the Central Exposition of the Texas Centennial Celebration, held on those very grounds in 1936.

Then in 1937, the Pan American Exposition used the grounds. So even in its off years, the land wasn't exactly sitting quiet. And the result of all of it — all those years, all those visitors, all those two-week stretches of music and livestock and spectacle — is a number that's almost hard to say out loud: over one hundred million persons have entered the gates of the State Fair of Texas during its annual expositions.

Over one hundred million. The marker says it now ranks as the most largely attended state fair in the entire United States. Started by a captain and a few civic-minded Dallasites back in 1886.

I'd say they built something that lasted.

What the marker says

Founded in 1886, the State Fair of Texas now ranks as the most largely attended State Fair in the U.S. It was begun as a private, nonprofit corporation for civic purposes by Capt. W. H. Gaston and other pioneer business and civic leaders of Dallas. Since 1904 the fair grounds have been owned by the city, which maintains them as a public park except during the annual two-week fair. The fair suspended operations for two years in order to permit the Central Exposition of the Texas Centennial Celebration to be held here in 1936. In 1937 the Pan American Exposition used the grounds. Over the years great names have appeared here, including wild west showman Buffalo Bill, Harry Houdini the magician, silver-tongued orator William Jennings Bryan, and Comanche war chief Quanah Parker. Federal, state, and city governments have erected a series of permanent buildings on the fair grounds, including the Hall of State, five other museums, music hall, livestock coliseum, and "Cotton Bowl." Originally 80 acres in size, the grounds have been successively enlarged to include the present 250 acres. Over 100,000,000 persons have entered its gates during annual expositions.