Delaware State Fair a century ago

The Delaware State Fair as we know it today was founded in 1919 as the Kent and Sussex County Fair, with the first event held in 1920. However, mentions of earlier iterations of the Delaware State Fair date back to just after the Civil War. The fair was held in Dover for a number of years before moving to Elsmere in 1917. It continued until it went bankrupt in 1924. Leaders of the Kent and Sussex County Fair officially changed the name to Delaware State Fair in 1969. 

This photograph from the Hagley Museum & Library is dated 1919 and likely shows the crowds at the state fair in Elsmere. 

This year’s Delaware State Fair began July 21 and runs until Saturday, July 30 in Harrington.