The Great Central Fair was a Sanitary Fair that happened in June 1864. It took place in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It was a fundraiser for the

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil W ...

History

The Great Central Fair took place from June 7 until June 28 of 1864 in the Logan Circle park in Philadelphia. It was inspired by past sanitary fairs that happened throughout the United States to raise funds for the

. The main exhibit building was 200,000 square feet in size. It was designed by Samuel Honeyman Kneass and William Stickland. There was also Union Street, which was 540 feet long and ran in the middle of the fair. Union Street was compared to a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

by Charles J. Stille. Inside the main building were "departments" with different themes. Themes included the neighboring states of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, themes about corn and

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fab ...

, a restaurant and

parlor A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necess ...

, as well as weaponry, fine art, curiosities, transportation and children's subjects. On June 16,

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and his family visited the fair. He donated 48 copies of the Emancipation Proclamation at $10 a book. They were all autographed by Lincoln. The festival raised over $1 million.

References

{{reflist Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Festivals in Philadelphia 19th century in Philadelphia 1864 in Pennsylvania United States Sanitary Commission