Michigan State Fair

Michigan State Fair is a Michigan historical marker in Detroit, Wayne County, dedicated 1958.

Wayne County · dedicated 1958 · 1120 W. State Fair, Detroit

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America’s first state fair, conducted by the Michigan Agricultural Society with the support of the legislature and local citizens, was held in Detroit on September 25-27, 1849. About eight hundred dollars in premiums were awarded for those “articles, productions and improvements” that were “best calculated to promote the agricultural and household manufacturing interests of the state.” The site of this annual fair was often moved until 1905 when it was given a permanent home here at the fairgrounds.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Marker data: Michigan History Center
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On the National Register nearby

Michigan State Fair Riding Coliseum, Dairy Cattle Building, and Agricultural Building290 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.