Historic Dickey County Fair booklets, Ken Smith, Contributed
The Dickey County Fair celebrated its 50th anniversary since its revival in 1975. Ken Smith, the editor at Dickey County Leader and member of the Ellendale Historical Society, dug into the archives for information on the fair’s history. From 1920 to 1933, Ellendale hosted a well-established fair. However, assumed economic struggles during the Great Depression halted that annual event. There was a wave of patriotic sentiment that occurred in the months leading up to America’s bicentennial in 1976—which seemed to have prompted the idea to revive the Dickey County Fair in 1975, with Ellendale deemed its permanent home, Smith says. Community pride and heritage were motivating factors, and thus, the funding was raised and on June 1st, 1975, ground was broken for the first fair building that remains on the west entrance to the fairgrounds. Since then, the fair has evolved as more buildings were added, and the original building was renovated with modern amenities and remains in use for events and the 4-H Archery team. This revitalization of a historic county fair fosters optimism, while cultivating appreciation for traditions and maintaining that source of vital agricultural education and community pride. The Dickey County Fair was recently awarded a state grant of $100,000 to go toward construction of a new livestock barn.
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