The Provincial Agricultural Fair of Canada West was an annual provincial agricultural fair held in various places[1][2] in Canada West and after 1867 in Ontario.
The fair was established in 1846 and sponsored by the Provincial Agricultural Association and the Board of Agriculture for Canada West. It replaced an earlier attempt in 1792 by the Agricultural Society of Upper Canada[3] founded in Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario) in 1792.
The fair was mainly an agricultural themed show featuring horses and domesticated animals from around what was still a very rural pre-Confederation Ontario. It would last until 1878 as it met competition with large number of local fairs that emerged across some towns and counties in Ontario[4] and eventually succeeded by the Canadian National Exhibition in 1879.
Year | Host | Notes |
---|---|---|
1846 | Toronto | Held at Government House Grounds near King Street West and Simcoe Street.[2] The amount of prizes was $1,600. The number of entries was 1,150.[5] |
1847 | Hamilton | Used Old Race Grounds[6] between Dundurn Street (then Garth Street) and Locke Street South along Aberdeen Avenue in Kirkendall area. The amount of prizes was $3,000. The number of entries was 1,600.[5] |
1848 | Cobourg | Hosted by Northumberland Agricultural Society and held on land loan by Patrick Wallace in the west end of town.[7] The amount of prizes was $3,100. The number of entries was 1,500.[5] |
1849 | Kingston | Likely on same site used the then Frontenac Agricultural Society Fair c. 1825 near Kingston (Kingston and District Agricultural Society after 1825). The amount of prizes was $5,100. The number of entries was 1,429.[5] |
1850 | Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake) | Held at Court House (now Old Court House Theatre) and 14 acres of land set aside (perhaps military reserves).[8] The amount of prizes was $5,000. The number of entries was 1,638.[5] |
1851 | Brockville | Host of fair from September 24 to 26.[9] The amount of prizes was $5,000. The number of entries was 1,466.[5] |
1852 | Toronto | September 21 to September 24.[10] North part of Grange Park (neighbourhood). The amount of prizes was $6,000. The number of entries was 3,048.[5] |
1853 | Hamilton | October 4 to 7.[11] The amount of prizes was $6,400. The number of entries was 2,820.[5] |
1854 | London, Ontario | September 24 to 26.[12] The first year London was chosen as a host site, corresponding to London's celebration of the coming of the railroad.[13] Fair site was north of Oxford St., and south of Grosvenor St., between Talbot St. and the Thames River (now London Life Recreation Grounds). Attended in last three days by James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin.[14] On the opening day, approximately 30,000 people attended. The amount of prizes was $7,200. The number of entries was 2,933.[5] The floral hall hosted the first recorded public art show in London.[15] A contemporary account notes the large size of the agricultural show, and the almost complete absence of exhibits highlighting mining and quarrying, forestry, and the Great Lakes fishery.[16] |
1855 | Cobourg | October 9 to 12[17] |
1856 | Kingston | September 23 to 26[18] |
1857 | Brantford, Ontario | Held September 29 to 30[19] |
From 1858 the fair rotated between Toronto, Kingston, Hamilton and London in the same sequence for the duration of the fair's existence.[20]
Year | Host | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
1858 | Toronto | Crystal Palace or Palace of Industry built near King Street West and Shaw Street[21] | |
1859 | Kingston | Held again in the city for third time.[22] | |
1860 | Hamilton[23] | ||
1861 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park.[20] The second provincial fair held in London (and sixteenth in Canada West) was on September 24–27, 1861, on grounds between Waterloo and Richmond, running south of what would become Kenneth Avenue "nearly down to Central Avenue".[24] Octagonal Crystal Palace for the fair opens September 10, 1861 (demolished May 1888), designed by William Robinson, and built for $9000, sited immediately south of Great Market Street (now Central Ave) between Waterloo and Richmond.[24] | |
1862 | Toronto | September 23 to 26[25] | |
1863 | Kingston[26] | ||
1864 | Hamilton [26] | ||
1865 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park.[20] Held September 18–22, this was the fair's third time in London.[27] | |
1866 | Toronto [28] | ||
1867 | Kingston [26] | ||
1868 | Hamilton [26] | ||
1869 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park.[20] The fair took place in September,[29] and was attended by the Governor General (Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn) and Sir John A. Macdonald.[30] | |
1870 | Toronto [20] | ||
1871 | Kingston [20] | ||
1872 | Hamilton [20] | Held September 23–27.[31] Attended by Lord Dufferin and Lady Dufferin.[32] | |
1873 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park.[20] Held September 22–25—the 28th Provincial Fair was London's fifth.[33] Attended by the Governor-General of Canada, Lord Dufferin.[34] | |
1874 | Toronto [20] | ||
1875 | Kingston [20] | ||
1876 | Hamilton [20] | ||
1877 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park. (The fairgrounds in London moved to their current Queen's Park location on September 19, 1887).[20] | |
1878 | Toronto | Last year Fair was held and first time at Exhibition Grounds by New Fort with Crystal Palace disassembled and rebuilt there.[21] |
Following Toronto's decision to create a permanent fair (Toronto Industrial Exhibition or now the Canadian National Exhibition), the provincial fair was replaced by the Dominion Exhibition from 1879 until 1913.
The remaining cities that continue with their existing fairs are:
A list of annual agricultural and/or country fairs in Ontario created before or after the establishment of the provincial fair:
Other annual fairs around Canada and the United States:
other annual agricultural events in Ontario
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)