Fryeburg Fair: How it all began

It was a chilly day in March 1851 when a few local farmers and merchants got together and decided to show off their produce, cattle and wares to the community.Since those humble beginnings 153 years ago, Fryeburg Fair has grown to become Maine's largest agricultural fair, with six days of harness racing, a farm museum second to none, the world's largest steer and oxen show, and a reputation known throughout North American.The eight-day "Blue Ribbon Classic" has flourished since that first fair when William Walker, of Lovell, won $3 for the best acre of corn, and William Spring, of Brownfield, earned $1 for the best seed wheat. Today, the early-October fair boats nearly 100 buildings on 185 acres in the Saco River Valley. Attracting more than 300,000 people annually, it is Maine's largest fair, second only in size in New England to the Eastern State Exposition in Springfield, Mass.The original history of the fair merged in the mid-1980s, thanks to surprisingly well documented records discovered by long-time fair trustee Donald Buzzell, of Fryeburg. Two yellowing books one of secretary reports and the other a membership listing were located in a shed cupboard at the Buzzell farmhouse, purchased by Don's late father in 1884.Signing the original documents for the society formed "for the improvement of agriculture and horticulture" were Gen. Pegleg Wadsworth, of Hiram, president; David R. Hastings, Lovell lawyer who served the original board as vice president; Thomas Souther, of Fryeburg, recording secretary; and Isaac Spring, of Brownfield, corresponding secretary and librarian.To consider the "expediency of forming an agricultural society," several men from Fryeburg, Brownfield and Hiram met at Sam Stickney's Inn in Brownfield on March 22, 1851. It was there that Wadsworth was chosen president and named, along with Souther and Col. Edward S. Osgood to a committee to report on a constitution and bylaws, according to the original secretary's report.Enthusiasm for the idea spread quickly through the original incorporating towns of Fryeburg, Hiram, Brownfield, Lovell, Denmark, Porter, Sweden, Waterford, Stow and Stoneham. Any resident of those towns could join by paying $1 per year, and a lifetime membership was available to the affluent for $10.The 31st Maine Legislature passed a special act incorporating the society, and the charter was officially accepted Oct. 31, 1851. The following Friday, the first fair was held in Brownfield, and it rotated towns each year until today's permanent location was found in 1856. It took two years to purchase the land near the old Portland-Ogdensburg Railroad depot.In 1884 and 1885, the fair sold its railroad land for $2,145, and in 1895 purchased 25 acres the first of several parcels at the present site along the Fryeburg-Lovell Road for $135. The last expansion came in 1995, when 10 acres were purchased on the east side of Route 5.While the fair was the creation of a group of Maine men, they quickly realized they could not go it along. They voted to allow women into the membership in 1859 on payment of 25 cents annually.In 1861, when fighting broke out during the Civil War, optimistic officials had already increased the annual exhibition from one to three days. With membership rolls from Maine down during the war, premiums were added to attract New Hampshire residents, although it would be another 40 years before they would officially be voted into society membership.Fryeburg boasts many superlatives, including the oldest continuous 4-H baby beef sale in New England. Fryeburg officials pressed on with their sale during World War II, while Eastern States curtailed its sale until after the war. A former president emeritus and Maine legislator, the late Francis Buzzell, chaired the first baby beef program, which this year will celebrate its 59th anniversary. He served on the original committee, along with the Phil Andrews, Donald Buzzell and John Weston.Andrews, a finance committee member for four decades, was elected president in 1991, when Francis Buzzell's health forced him to step down. Andrews passed away last year, and long-time friend David Hastings II succeeded him as president.The fair's growth to eight days has been a gradual one. Trustees voted to expand the fair to four days in 1941, but World War II stalled the expansion until 1945. The fair swelled to five days in 1954, seven days a few years later, and eight days in 1981, when the second Sunday was added. While the fair continues to grow in popularity, officials say they are satisfied with keeping the event at eight days.The history of the Fryeburg Fair is chronicled in words and photographs in the History Hall, located just outside Expo 1 near the front gate.