Full text of "History of Minnehaha Co." Chapter 9

	This file contains the full text of Bailey's History (1899),
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CHAPTER IX.

AGRICULTURAL PAIRS-CARNIVAL-RACES AND RACE HORSES.

COUNTY FAIRS.

	The first agricultural fair held in the County of Minnehaha occupied two days, the 8th and 9th of October, 1874. There is only a brief record in existence as to its doings, but it is possible it may be complete though it is brief. It is important, however, as being the first fair held in the county.

	The society was called the Minnehaha County Agricultural Society. Artemas Gale was president, G. J. Skinner secretary and C. K. Howard treasurer. Porter P. Peck was chief marshal, and there was quite a number of persons scattered about the county who were vice presidents of this society.

	There were 112 premiums advertised to be paid to the exhibitors, amounting in all to $77.25. Although the weather was fine and the attendance good, and all the officials looking carefully after their respective departments, still the meritorious exhibits were so limited that only twenty-eight premiums were awarded, amounting in all to $21.75.

	It has been so long since this fair delighted the residents of the county that it has passed from the memory of the participants whether the premiums were paid in full or not.

	In 1882, after the matter of fairs had remained dormant for years, the people of Sioux Falls awakened to the fact that an exposition was desirable, and an organization was perfected called the Sioux Falls Exposition.   Great preparations were made for the event. Grounds were secured south of the city and a race track made in a corn field. Four halls and an amphitheatre were erected, stalls for horses and cattle, and sheds for sheep and hogs were constructed, over 275,000 feet of lumber being used. The fair was held September 13, 14 and 15, the exhibits were quite large, and there was a good attendance, but a high wind made it very uncomfortable. It was not a financial success, and the premiums could not be paid in full.  W. C. Boyce was the most active person in this movement, and became the secretary of the association; R. F. Pettigrew was elected president, but not being able to give his attention to the enterprise R. M. Crawford of Brookings was elected to the place.

	In 1883 the second annual fair of the Sioux Falls Exposition was held in Sioux Falls September 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. In order to make this fair a success the people of Minnehaha county worked with great vigor not only to secure a large attendance but also large exhibits, and to give the people who should attend, full compensation for their time and money. Six thousand dollars was offered in prizes and purses, one thousand dollars being for one race. New buildings were erected, the amphitheatre enlarged, the stalls and sheds for stock were increased in number, the race track put in good condition, and excursion rates procured over the railroads for passengers, and special freight rates for stock and other articles for exhibition. The weather was favorable and the attendance at the fair, although not what was expected, was reasonably good. It was during this fair that a man by the name of Clark appeared on the grounds with what looked to be an ordinary farm horse, and entered him in a running race, making a good deal of boast about how fast the horse was, and that he would back the horse for a small amount to win the race. He was accommodated, and after the race the sports handed over to the owner of "Ben Lee" about $600. Bob Kneebs was on the wrong side of the betting in this race. This fair was not a financial success, the management being about S2,000 behind.

	In February, 1884, several farmers of Minnehaha county met in the office of G. J. Skinner in Sioux Falls to take the initiatory steps towards the organization of the Sioux Valley Farmers' and Dairymen's Association. This association was finally organized with M. T. Hogaboom as president. During the summer the management determined to have an exposition on September 24, 25 and 26, at the driving park in Sioux Falls.

	Quite extensive preparations were made to make this fair a success. The weather on the first day was all that could be desired, but the attendance was small. The second day the wind blew a gale and was one of the most disagreeable days ever experienced in Sioux Falls. The third day it began raining in the morning and it poured all day. Further comments would be superfluous.

	The next fair in the county was held on September 15,16,17 and 18, 1885, at the driving park in Sioux Falls. During the winter preceding an agricultural society had been organized in Sioux Falls called the Southeastern Dakota Agricultural Society, and its first exposition was held as above. The weather was favorable, the exhibits good, the races satisfactory, and the management, after having paid all the expenses and premiums, had $29.99 left in the treasury.

	On September 22, 23 and 24, 1886, the Southeastern Dakota Agricultural Society held its second annual fair at the base ball park on Duluth avenue between Ninth and Tenth streets. Temporary buildings had been erected, but there was no race track. The exhibits were quite large and the attendance good. A novel feature of this fair was the great number of brief addresses made by prominent gentlemen of Sioux Falls. Judge J. F. Kelley of Ohio also delivered an address on the last day.

	Since 1886, three State fairs, in 1891-2-5, and the Tri-state fair in 1896, have been held in Sioux Falls, but there has been no Countv fair organization attempted.

STATE FAIRS.

	The legislative assembly of the Territory of Dakota in 1885, created a department of agriculture for the promotion of agriculture, horticulture, manufactures and domestic arts.

	The management of this department was entrusted to a board styled the Territorial Board of Agriculture, to consist of one president and a vice president from each legislative district of the territory, to be elected at Mitchell on the 17th day of June, 1885, and thereafter on the fair grounds on Wednesday of the week of the annual fair, by the delegates chosen by the several agricultural societies in counties where they existed, and in counties where there were no such societies, the delegates were to be appointed bv the county commissioners of such counties. By the provisions of this law each county was entitled to three delegates. The officers of the board were to serve without pay, except the secretary and treasurer, hut were to receive mileage one way between their homes and the place of the meeting.

	In 1887, the territorial legislature amended the law of 1885, creating two districts, which were to be managed by two boards styled District Boards of Agriculture. District number one comprised all that part of the Territory of Dakota lying south of the seventh standard parallel, and district number two all that portion lying north of said parallel. The only change made in reference to the officers of the boards, their election and compensation, was to pay the members of the boards, in addition to mileage, their actual expenses when in attendance upon the meetings.

	In 1889, the territorial legislature appropriated $10,000, to be paid in equal moieties to the district boards, to be used only in the payment of premiums and expenses contingent upon the holding of annual fairs.

	The first legislature of the State of South Dakota in 1890, made no amendments to the law, and made no appropriation to the state board of agriculture.

	In 1891, the legislature appropriated to the state board of agriculture the annual sum of $2,000 for the payment of premiums and contingent expenses for holding annual fairs for the years 1891 and 1892.

	The legislature of 1893 made no appropriation to the state board of agriculture for that year, but appropriated $2,500 for the year 1894.

	In 1895, the legislature made no appropriation whatever, and defeated a bill providing for the payment of the indebtedness of the board, amounting to a little over $5,000. At this session of the legislature a bill was passed authorizing the board of agriculture to locate the state annual fair at such place as the board might think best, for a term of not less than five nor more than ten years.

	At a meeting of the state board of agriculture on the 19th day of March, 1895, at Huron, it was decided to locate the state annual fair at Sioux Falls for the term of six years, and on the 22d day of March the board entered into a contract with Clark G. Coats for the old fair grounds near his residence, and with certain citizens of Sioux Falls for the annual payment of certain sums to the board, in consideration of holding the state fairs at Sioux Falls.

	The officers of the state board of agriculture in 1895 were Oscar P. Kemp of Watertown, president; J. E. Platt of Clark, treasurer; Morris H. Kelly of Aberdeen, secretary.

	The fairs have been held at the following places: At Huron in 1885 and 1886; at Mitchell in 1887 and 1888; at Aberdeen in 1889 and 1890; at Sioux Falls in 1891 and 1892; at Aberdeen in 1893 and 1894.

	The annual state fair for 1895 commenced at Sioux Falls on September 30, and was an interesting fair in many respects, and we cannot forego the pleasure of placing before our readers some of its most salient features.

	Owing to some acts of commission and omission that occurred between the board and the other parties to the contract of March, 1895, matters were greatly delayed in making the necessary preparations for the exposition, and when the real work commenced it had to be done in a hurry.

	So far as Secretary Kelly is concerned, the writer wishes to place upon record that he acted as promptly as circumstances would permit, and came to Sioux Falls several weeks before the fair and remained there most of the time attending to the duties of his office to the best of his ability.

	If the management were unfortunate in getting the fair advertised, a committee composed of Sioux Falls business men made up for the defect by putting in operation such plans as informed all the people who would naturally visit the exposition that there was to be a fair held in Sioux Falls, and that it would be a fair such as had never before been seen in South Dakota.

	The weather was simply perfect, and the exhibits surpassed anything ever brought together in South Dakota. It was not a horse-racing affair, but a grand exhibit of the products of the state. Some of the county exhibits were exceedingly fine, and it would have been creditable to any county in the United States to have made an equally fine display of its products.

	The art hall was tastily decorated by a committee composed of Mrs. W. G. George, Miss Belle Beveridge and Miss Alice Phillips, and was filled with such a fine display of pictures and textile fabrics that made Dakotians proud of their state. The business men of Sioux Falls had erected an arcade on the fair grounds, forty feet wide and two hundred feet long, which was filled with a magnificent display of goods. It was elegantly decorated, and much credit is due to a committee of ladies of Sioux Falls, of which Mrs. T. J. Foley was chairman, for its artistic arrangement.

	At five o'clock in the afternoons of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the fair week, balloon ascensions were made from the grounds in front of the grand stand by Professor W. Z. Love of Indianapolis, Ind., which were declared by all who witnessed them to be the finest ever seen in this locality. The Brookings band, the best in the state, the attractive Juvenile band of Mitchell and the Santee Indian band, composed of Sioux Indians in costume, furnished as fine music as any state fair could wish for.

	What the fair management failed to procure in the way of special attractions the citizens of Sioux Falls supplied through the efforts of a special committee, with J. Tomlinson, Jr., as chairman. A banquet to the editors of the state; a barbeque for the farmers, on the island; a bicycle tournament; parades of the traveling men, the Knights of Pythias, the Shriners and other secret societies, and illumination of the streets of the city during fair week, were some of the principal attractions provided by the city of Sioux Falls for her guests.

	The attendance was large, but the fair was not a financial success, and the board was severely criticised by the people and newspapers for not paying the premiums in full.

	The writer was in this boat, being one of the members of the board, and has nothing to say by way of extenuation or vindication of himself, except that he never labored more faithfully for the success of any enterprise and never received so small compensation for services performed.

	The last state fair has been held at Sioux Falls under the existing laws governing the state agricultural board.

THE TRI-STATE FAIR.

	The attendance during the state fair at Sioux Falls in 1895 was so large, and the benefits resulting therefrom so apparent to the business men in the city that early in the spring of 1896 a public meeting was called to consider the expediency of organizing an association for the purpose of having a fair in Sioux Falls during the fall of that year. The sentiment was nearly unanimous in favor of the plan, and after several meetings an organization was perfected which was called the Tri-State Fair Association. J. Tomlinson, Jr., was elected president, and had associated with him the best business men in the city. From the outset it was voted that the fair should be a success financially, and to secure this beyond question a cash deposit of five thousand dollars was demanded by the management from the citizens of Sioux Falls to secure the payment of the premiums offered and expenses incurred by the association. The amount was raised, and the association went to work with great energy and enthusiasm to give the people the best fair ever held in the state. In the matter of premiums a new departure was decided upon. No individual premiums were offered by the association for the exhibit of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, poultry, grain, seed and vegetables, in fact for anything, except county agricultural exhibits as such, and one hundred and fifty dollars for butter and cheese. Private individuals in the city offered special premiums, but they were limited to a small class of exhibits. In place of the usual exhibits and premiums for the same, the management determined upon presenting some rare attractions to secure the attendance necessary to insure success.

	The first day Buffalo Bill with his Wild West Show appeared on the grounds. There was a large crowd in attendance, and when he left he took with him a large per cent of the people's half dollars that might otherwise have been exchanged for tickets upon the subsequent days of the fair.

	High-diving men and horses, balloon ascensions, bicycle contests, horse racing, elk trotting, and shooting exhibitions were the principal specialities on the grounds, and the city at night was grandly illuminated and the people entertained at banquets and by political speakers of national reputation. The exhibits were fair and in some respects admirable, especially in the art department which was under the management of Arthur C. Phillips, who had labored industriously for several weeks to make it attractive. Nothing was left undone to secure a large attendance of the people, but notwithstanding the mighty efforts put forth it was not a financial success.

SIOUX FALLS CARNIVAL.

	During the year 1897, the people of Sioux Falls took a much needed rest, and no effort was made in the county to have an agricultural fair or exposition of any kind whatever. But during the spring and early summer of 1898, under the inspiration of the Business Men's League, the business men of Sioux Falls decided to have a carnival during the fall. An organization was perfected, and those who had the project in charge worked industriously to make it a success. Wednesday, the 12th day of October was fixed upon as the opening day. Various attractions had been secured, and the carnival was well advertised. But the 12th of October proved to be anything but an ideal day for carnival sports, in fact, the rain prevented the carrying out of the program. The next day, Thursday, there was an improvement in the weather and during the evening the harvest parade (postponed from the evening before) and the bicycle parade were merged, and made a splendid display. Friday, German day, was a success, and although the outside attendance was not as large as expected, there were at least four or five thousand strangers in the city. Football games, balloon ascensions, professional bicycle races, cake walks, and, best of all, an industrial parade Friday evening, brought Sioux Falls' first carnival to such a successful conclusion that for a few years at least, an annual carnival will be one of the events looked forward to by the residents of the Queen City and vicinity.

RACING AND RACE HORSES.

	Late in the seventies there was a half-mile race track on section seven, in Wayne township, owned by Frank Forde. The people of Sioux Falls would occasionally go out there and have a few hours' sport. At that time there were no fast horses in the county, comparatively speaking, but it was on this track that the grading-up process commenced. In 1882, when the Sioux Falls Exposition was formed, one of the features of this enterprise was the making of a half-mile race track, and during the fairs of that year and 1883 some good racing, both trotting and running, was had on this track. These races undoubtedly inspired some of the lovers of good horses in Sioux Falls to secure a better class of race horses. In any event, it was about this time that several parties in the city began to purchase high-bred trotting horses, and some of them have attracted more than local attention, particularly Moody, Fanchon and Little Mike. Prairie Lily, a young pacing filly that secured a national reputation in 1895, was bred in Sioux Falls by J. W. Boyce, and M. Grigsby's Pinta, a pacing colt, also won distinction in fast classes the same season.

	But to go back a little and consecutively follow the different schemes which have materialized in Sioux Falls for the training of race horses. The exposition in 1883 having proved a financial failure, the horsemen secured the holding of a turfmen's congress at the Cataract House on the 5th day of March, 1884, and organized the "Sioux City and Dakota Circuit."  On the 14th day of the same month the Sioux Falls Driving Park association was organized with a capital of $20,000, and the old grounds were fitted up for the use of the circuit. On the llth and 12th days of June following, a race meeting was held on these grounds. The attendance was fair, and the entertainment good, although no fast time was made. The next meeting was held June 17, 18 and 19, 1885, and like the one the year before, it afforded the public a great amount of pleasure, but was not a financial success, and the grounds were finally disposed of. The fastest time made during these races was 2:26 1/2.

	In the summer of 1888 C. G. Coats decided to build a half-mile track on his farm south of the city, and on the 21st day of September he had it completed and ready for use. Some pretty good races were had on this track. In 1891 the location of the state fair was secured by Sioux Falls, and Mr. Coats, at great expense, built a kite track upon which races were had during the fair of that year and the year following.

	Early in 1893 a few enterprising gentlemen in Sioux Falls organized the Sioux Falls Driving association, and rented the fair grounds -tracks and buildings-of Mr. Coats for a term of years, and proceeded at once to make arrangements for a great trotting meeting to be held July 18,19 and 20 following. Quite large purses were offered, but at the appointed time the attendance was not as large as was expected, considering the inducements offered by the association, some of the fastest horses in the Northwest being on the grounds.

	The following year the association made great efforts for a successful trotting meeting. It was well advertised, good purses offered, fast horses secured, the time opportune and the weather fine, but it was not a financial success. This meeting was held on July 10, 11, 12 and 13, and the best time made was by the pacer Ontonion, 2:09 1/2. The loss to the association was so large that no further attempts have since been made to give the people of Sioux Falls an opportunity of seeing good races at home.