Out of the Archives is a weekly blog highlighting items in the collections of the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives.
Winchester Fairgrounds, 1870-1930
Top of Virginia Regional Chamber Records, 516 THL/WFCHS
Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Society Collection, 752 THL/WFCHS
Winchester Map, Sanborn Collection, 1912
Photograph Collection
May 21, 2025: After we posted the 1932 Apple Blossom parade route map a couple of weeks ago (Apple Blossom Parade Route, 1932 | Handley Regional Library System), we had requests for more information about the Winchester Fairgrounds on the north side of town where the parade ended. So, let’s look into those fairgrounds across a few items in our collection.
The 23-acre space was at the north end of the city limits between North Loudoun and Fairmont. It was located approximately about here.
It was used for the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Society’s Annual Exhibition. The society began holding annual exhibitions in 1869, and they purchased the fairgrounds site from John Glaize in 1870. In their 1891 premium list of the exhibition, the organizers described the perfect nature of the location, which included ease of access to railroads and “a boundless supply of living water” (see below).
The annual exhibition fair would feature competition in various categories including animals, farm grown food, home manufacturing, and “ladies department” (cooking/baking/canning, needlework/sewing, and music). The fair would also feature racing, putting in a half-mile racing track on the property with grandstands (first horse racing, and later automobile racing as well). You can see the edges of the racetrack in this Sanborn map from 1912.
According to a stockholder in the organization, at the height of the fair’s popularity, there were more than 50,000 people at the fairgrounds in one day. The fairgrounds were featured in a tourism pamphlet for the region printed in 1924, complete with an aerial look of the fair.
Another tourism pamphlet printed around the same time highlights a map of attractions in the area, one of which is the fairgrounds at number 34 (upper right-hand side).
The fairgrounds would also be used for other community events as well, such as the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, dances, baseball games, circuses, and celebrity visits. Below are some photographs of the fairground being used.
Horse Racing at Fairgrounds, 1900 (69-216 wfchs)
Winchester Fair, 1917 (69-44 wfchs)
Band entering Fairgrounds during Apple Blossom Festival, 1927 (1406-150 thl)
Winchester Fair Arch with advertising, circa 1930
The last Annual Exhibition run by the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Society would be held in 1930. In 1931, the organization faced legal issues regarding their debt. As a result of the court cases, the fairgrounds eventually went to the Farmers and Merchants Bank, who then sold it in 1939 for $25,000.