Photo of the Week
—– July 18th —–
FROM THE SCHS LIBRARY ARCHIVES
“How shall we know it is us without our past?”
– John Steinbeck
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SUFFOLK COUNTY FAIR
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Fair Exhibit of the Central Islip State Hospital, 1907, by Hal B. Fullerton. (From the Harry T. Tuthill Fullerton Collection of the Suffolk County Historical Society Library Archives. Image copyright (c) Suffolk County Historical Society. All rights reserved. Ed Note — to view Fullerton photo, please visit SCHS website.)
Organized by the Suffolk County Agricultural Society, the Suffolk County Fair took place for nearly a hundred years— from the 1840s through most of the 1930s. The annual fair was originally held at several locations around Suffolk County. Then, in 1867, a group of prominent Riverhead citizens purchased twenty acres of vacant land west of the Riverhead cemetery and donated it to the agricultural society so the fair could be held annually at a permanent location.
The first fair on the new site was held in 1868, and from that point on the Riverhead Fair Grounds became the locale of the annual Suffolk County Fair. On the grounds, in addition to the annual county fair, other popular events took place–Babe Ruth once played a baseball game there, Teddy Roosevelt campaigned for New York State governor, and harness races took place on the track. The Riverhead Fair Grounds continued to host the annual county fair until the property was sold in 1936 to the Riverhead Central School District.
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Suffolk County Historical Society
300 West Main St.
Riverhead, NY 11901
631.727.2881
www.
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