The Canfield Fairgrounds refers to a 353-acre plot of land in

Canfield, Ohio Canfield is a city in central Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,699 as of the 2020 census. A suburb about southwest of Youngstown, the city lies at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62 and 224 and is part of the Young ...

, that hosts the week-long Canfield Fair every summer. Additionally, the grounds host several events throughout the year, such as dog shows, fireworks, 5k runs, hayrides, and other community events

History

The inaugural

Mahoning County Mahoning County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 228,614. Its county seat and largest city is Youngstown. The county is named for a Lenape word meaning "at the licks" or "there is a lick", refer ...

Fair (better known as the Canfield Fair) originated in 1846 at the Canfield Fairgrounds after the Mahoning County Agricultural Society determined that there was a need to increase agricultural awareness in the area. Elisha Whittlesey felt it was imperative to bring the issue to the Congregational Church regarding “Competitive Exhibitions as a Means of Awakening More Active Interest in All Industrial Pursuits”, therefore leading to what we know as the Canfield Fair today. It is the second largest fair in Ohio, following the

Ohio State Fair The Ohio State Fair is one of the largest state fairs in the United States, held in Columbus, Ohio during late July through early August. As estimated in a 2011 economic impact study conducted by Saperstein & Associates; the State Fair contributes ...

, with an average attendance of 350,000 people in recent years at an average of 60,000 attendees a day. The Canfield Fair is the largest county fair in the state of Ohio. In addition to an assortment of food, games and rides, the fair also hosts events and musical acts in its famous Grandstands venue. Concerts, monster trucks, demolition derbies and horse racing are some of the events held in the past. Beginning with

The Lennon Sisters The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group made up of four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (aka DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Anne, April 8, 1941), Kathy (born Kathleen Mary, Augu ...

kicking off the entertainment in 1956, top music acts have made their way to the Canfield Fair each and every year since 1968. The following is a list of famous musicians and performers that have performed at the Canfield Fair:

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

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, and much more. There were no fairs in 1917–18, 1942–45 nor 2020, although in the latter year a junior fair went on.

NASCAR History

Additionally in 1950,

Canfield Speedway Canfield Speedway is a half mile dirt oval racetrack that hosted (major) sanctioned auto racing from 1950 to 1964, but other associations ran until the late 1970s. There was also a 1/4 mile dirt racing surface that shared the front stretch with ...

, a half mile dirt oval hosted the fifth race of the 1950 season for

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

's top division on May 30. Jimmy Florian won the pole for the event and

Bill Rexford William J. "Bill" Rexford (March 14, 1927 – April 18, 1994) was a stock car driver in the early 1950s. He is best remembered for winning the 1950 NASCAR Grand National Series championship at only 23 years old. Rexford currently holds the distin ...

won and went on to take the Championship. It is notable as Rexford's only victory that season, making him one of a few drivers to win the championship with only 1 victory.

References

Sources

*https://web.archive.org/web/20080831224648/http://www.ci.canfield.oh.us/HistoryofCanfield.html http://www.canfieldfair.com/ {{coord, 41, 0, 36, N, 80, 45, 13, W, type:landmark, display=title Agricultural shows in the United States Fairgrounds in Ohio Buildings and structures in Mahoning County, Ohio Motorsport venues in Ohio Tourist attractions in Mahoning County, Ohio Festivals established in 1846